A Whole New World
by Screammoutloud
Summary: "If light shall fail and darkness reigns, the gods will be facing their end of days." Andi Smith is...unique. When something upsets the balance, it's clearly Andi's task to restore it. But not even the Oracle could see the bigger picture, and it's scary.
1. It's Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

You never would have thought, looking back on how I was then, that I would change everything about my world. Yes, _my _world, the one filled with demigods, monsters, and the Gods of Olympus themselves. I know what you have to be thinking, "Oh wow! How cool!" But no, it isn't cool, or fun, or even _sane_. It's scary and dangerous and the worst part is that people _die_. Your best friends could be killed _in a second. _It's happened to all of us Half-Bloods at one point in our lives, which are usually very short.

Does this sound awesome now? It shouldn't. You're bored, want some action? Play some Call of Duty, not Demigods Trying to Save Your Sorry Butt. We have enough problems as it is without you mortals running around, trying to help.


	2. The First Domino Has Fallen

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were the "It" couple. They were seniors, popular, and weren't totally stuck up. It helped that Percy was incredibly attractive and that Annabeth was the drop-dead gorgeous, California girl. Well, except for her unsettling, intelligent gray eyes. It was almost like you were an equation she was trying to solve, the way she examined you.

Even though I was just a freshman, I saw them almost everyday. The three of us all had Dyslexia and were put in a class for the "Specially Gifted," whatever that meant. Every now and then, I would find one of them looking at me critically, as if they were trying to read my mind or something. Whenever I caught them they didn't look away, as if embarrassed, but scrutinized me yet again before smiling and turning away.

On that day, I had caught them looking at me everywhere I went. It was more of a "checking to see if your still breathing" kind of look though, and something about those looks set me on edge. Percy and Annabeth seemed just as jumpy as I did and I wondered whether it was contributed to the fact we all had severe cases of ADHD.

Either way, by lunch, I was seriously creeped out.

"You know Percy and Annabeth?" I asked Andrea, my best friend as I slid into my seat across from her. She had dark, almost black hair and big, brown eyes; but don't let that fool you, she could be downright evil sometimes.

"Oooh! Mega hottie and the girlfriend? What about them?" She replied, leaning forward. Andrea loved gossip and would talk about anything and everything. Surprisingly, she had never said a thing to anyone about the secrets I'd told her.

"They keep looking at me, as if they are waiting for something," I said with a frown, swishing my milk around in a circle.

She rolled her eyes and leaned back, taking a bite of her apple. "Don't they always look at you like that?" She asked, her mouth full.

I blew my side bangs out of my face. "No. Normally, they are, like, trying to figure me out. Today it's like they're waiting for me to drop dead!"

"Well for my sake, please don't. School would suck without you," She said, making a face at a piece of chicken on her tray. I might have been wrong, but I thought I saw a pulse. Ugh, public school food.

"Gee, Drea, thanks," I said half-sarcastically. She laughed, but then froze, her face melting into a glare.

"Incoming," she muttered darkly. I bit back a groan just as Ashley Fagan stopped beside our table.

"My God!" She shrieked in that obnoxious, shrill voice of hers. "What died on your head?" She pointed to my hair as her Plastic friends dissolved in giggles.

"Dunno, but at least I can fit into my jeans from last year," I said in a bored voice. I knew that my hair looked fine, as soft and straight as it always was. Ashley had always hated me, ever since she transferred here at the beginning of the school year.

At my reply, her face grew scarlet, her lips twisting up with fury. Then, get this, she dumped her tray all over me. My mouth fell open as milk and spaghetti spilled all over my lap.

"You wh-" I started, jumping to my feet, but the rest of my comment was drowned out by laughter. Before I knew what I was doing, I made a fist and pulled my arm back, letting it fly forward again. My fist connected with her perfect nose and she screamed, the cafeteria roaring with noise. Andrea grabbed my arm and dragged me out into the hall, pulling me along as she sprinted into the bathroom, locking the door behind us.

**A/N: So last chapter was more of a prologue. This one was longer. I hoped you like it. And please,_ please_ review. Constructive criticism is my best friend...or something... **


	3. Twilight: Greek Style

"What what _that?_" She choked as I walked over to the sink, gripping either side of it. I leaned on it and looked at the drain, completely shocked at what I'd just done.

Drea didn't wait for me to answer; she turned on the sink and splashed water onto my face before she dampened a paper towel.

"C'mere," She sighed and went to work on my jeans, trying to get the milk out of them. After about five minutes, she gave up. "It's no use! Milk sucks!"

I groaned aloud this time. "I'm screwed! I'm gonna get suspended! What am I supposed to do? Stay with my _father _all day?"

"You could stay with Mom and me. The apartment has two bedrooms. You could room with me," She said with a shrug.

I looked at her pathetically. "Your mom will never go for that." And it was true. Mrs. Fulleda rocked, but she had to work and taking on another teenage girl would not be a delight for her.

Just then, there was a bang on the door.

"Fulleda! Smith! I know you're in there! Come out now and you won't be _expelled!_" Barked Mr. Roberts. The man was evil, I swear, giving us a quiz every day over things he never even taught us.

Drea looked over at me, shifting from one foot to the other uneasily.

"Well?" She whispered. I swallowed with difficulty.

"It can't get any better to stay in here forever…" I croaked. I was having issues speaking just then, which was highly unusual for me. Andrea nodded and slowly walked over to the door. She hesitated before unlocking it, but when she finally did, Mr. Roberts burst into the bathroom.

I would've said something clever and funny just then, but Andrea beat me to the punch. "Last time I checked, this was the girls restroom. You, my friend, are not a girl. Unless," She gasped dramatically, "You're hiding something. No wonder I've seen you in the dress section at Macy's!"

Mr. Robert's face grew red and splotchy, as did the top of his head, where he was completely bald. I snickered; If I was going down, I could at least piss some people off first. Robert's eyes moved to me and his face grew too calm for my liking.

"Miss Fulleda, kindly go back to lunch. Smith, come with me," he said coldly, with a smile to match his voice.

Drea's bravado faded just then as she looked at me. She was taking me in as though this were the last time she'd see me alive. Reluctantly, she opened the bathroom door and slipped out, heading back toward the Cafeteria.

Roberts smiled coldly, holding the door open for me. The smile made the hair on the back of my neck prickle and a shiver was sent down my spine as I moved passed him. I turned right, intending to go to the office, but Mr. Roberts stopped me.

"No, no, we aren't going to see the principal. Come this way, Miss Smith," He smirked. I was getting really uneasy now; my stomach was knotting and un-knotting over and over again as I followed him down an empty hallway. We rounded another corner into a hallway lined solely with lockers and I froze.

Ashley and her two clones stood shoulder to shoulder about fifteen feet away, glaring with hatred so intense that I was genuinely scared. The thing that hit me hardest was how the three of them were slightly transparent.

I whirled around to face Roberts, who was grinning and…melting. His skin was oozing down, leaving a pretty young girl in his place. I made a disbelieving sound as the girl bowed, she too was transparent.

"My lady," She purred, looking at Ashley. I turned back to the three girls I had hated for the past year only to find three completely different, well, _things_. Ashley had turned pale, with a deadly look, and tears of blood running down her face. Her first clone had turned into a gorgeous woman, too old to be a student. The third plastic looked identical to Mr. Roberts. Or Ms. Roberts, or whatever the hell that thing was.

"Wha-wha-what-?" I stuttered, backing up against a locker so that I could see all four of them at once.

"Oh, come now child," Ashley said maliciously. "You godlings are so dimwitted I almost feel sorry for you. I am none other than Lamia Libys, spirit of the Underworld. And you, demi-god, are my lunch."

My eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open. The Underworld…demi-god…godling?

"Did you just call me dimwitted?" Someone asked loudly, indignantly. Only when Ashley's face contorted with rage did I realize I had said it. I automatically wished I had better control of my tongue. She stalked toward me, her whole face covered with blood, her eyes red and glowing. She opened her mouth and I saw fangs there.

"Holy crow! I thought vampires were supposed to be hot!" I shrieked, the smart-aleck in me shining through my terror. In all honesty, she would have been pretty, if not for the blood and transparency.

She let out a scream of rage and rushed me. I closed my eyes and braced myself.

**A/N: Suspense! Not really. But still. Helpful criticism? Please? It's the holidays people!**


	4. The It Couple to the Rescue

She let out a scream of rage and rushed me. I closed my eyes and braced myself. But the sharp pain and hot trickle of blood didn't come. Instead, I heard someone yell, "Hey ugly!" and a scream of pain.

My eyes snapped open to see a blonde head of curls in front of me. The girl turned her head to the side, so I could see her profile. It was Annabeth. Standing in front of me. Protectively. Confused? I was.

"Hang on, this should be over in no time," She said to me over her shoulder. But as she said it, Roberts lunged for her.

"Annabeth, watch it!" That random voice yelled again. Annabeth slashed a knife across Roberts, but it slid right through the thing's body.

I looked over where the other voice had come from to see Percy Jackson with a bronze sword. He was slashing through two of the creatures at once: Ashley and the older, bombshell one. Ashley slashed her claws across Percy's chest and I shrieked, expecting him to fall in a heap to the ground. But her nails just bounced harmlessly off of him.

"You!" Ashley shrieked in recognition. "Son of the Sea God! You, who took a bath in the Styx! Our business does not concern you, boy! Leave the girl to us!"

"Hmm," Percy replied with mock thoughtfulness. "Let me think about that. No."

And with that, he stabbed Ashley through the heart. She wailed and went, well, poof. She actually exploded into dust. Her companion screeched in rage.

"Andromeda!" Annabeth yelled. I was about to yell right back that my name was Andi, not _Andromeda_, when the crazy chick hurled her dagger at me.

I ducked with a shriek and yelled, "What in hell was _that_?"

"Turn around!" She shouted at me, drawing a handful of ninja stars out of her back pocket along with a Yankee's hat.

I did as she told me and fell back onto my butt at what I saw. The third one of Ashley's little gang was standing right in my face, seething with rage. She swiped at me with her nails and I scooted back even further. I looked around wildly, still dodging the transparent girl and spotted Annabeth's dagger lying about ten feet behind the girl.

Without thinking, I dove in between her legs to get to the bronze weapon. It worked, but she had raked her claws down my right leg. I screamed in pain but grabbed the weapon all the same. Instinctively, I tried to get back on my feet, but found that my leg only buckled beneath me when I put weight onto it. Panicking, I hurled the knife toward her chest, remembering when Percy stabbed Ashley through the heart. She had disappeared and it was worth a shot to try it on this one too.

The knife flew just past her heart and she howled in pain. Nevertheless, she kept coming.

All of a sudden, the adrenaline washed out of me, my ADHD making my thoughts so scrambled that I had a headache. My leg hurt so badly, my entire body was weak. I looked directly into the girls eyes and for a split second, felt life soar through my body. My thoughts became clear and I felt power. It was over as quickly as it had come though and I sagged back against a locker.

But something had happened to the girl. Her mouth was open in a silent scream and white light poured out of her eyes and mouth. Then she disintegrated, leaving nothing but dust in her place.

Roberts was gone but the older one was still there, still battling Percy. At the sight of her last comrade disappearing, she shrieked and backed away.

"This is not the end, demigods! Be warned, the Lamiai will not rest until the young one is destroyed!" She screamed before fading away completely, glaring at me until the last second.

**A/N: Thank you for everyone who reviewed! You guys are great! Anyway, I might update again later tonight considering this chapter is kind of short.**


	5. Next time? I'll take a cab

All was silent as Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. They seemed to be having a silent exchange because both there faces were tense and serious. I shifted my leg and whimpered. Blood was pooling on the floor around it and I could feel the blackness coming on.

Percy looked over at me a little startled, as if he'd forgotten I was there. "Crap Andi, I'm sorry," He said to me, walking over and kneeling down beside my leg. He gently peeled a strip of my jeans back from one of the long cuts. I winced; some of the fabric was stuck to the raw skin of the cut. My jean leg looked as though someone had tried-and failed-to make fringe from the knee down.

Percy pulled back another blood dampened strip and I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. He looked at me apologetically.

"Sorry, but we have to get all this out before we stop the bleeding. Then we'll give you some Ambrosia," He told me calmly, then looked at Annabeth. "Got any squares?"

Annabeth's brow furrowed and she slung her backpack around in front of her. As Percy kept pulling the strips of jean back one by one, Annabeth dug around in her book bag. In a few seconds, she had pulled out a plastic baggie with smushed up _stuff_ in it.

Percy gingerly pulled the last strip of jean from my leg and grabbed a bottle of water from his backpack. He slowly poured it up and down my lower leg, washing away the blood and flushing out the wounds.

"Gods, those are deep. I wish we had a satyr, or someone from Apollo," Annabeth muttered, opening the plastic bag full of mush. An image of a half-goat, half-human creature popped into my head at the word _Satyr_. I shook my head slightly, wondering how I'd known what a satyr was.

"Best we can do is get her to camp," Percy replied, pulling some bandages out from his backpack too. Jeeze, I wondered if he had prepared for the apocalypse in that thing.

Annabeth started working on scraping some of the mush out of the bag(with a ninja star she hadn't thrown) as Percy started wrapping up my leg. I had a feeling that no matter how hard they tried, my leg wouldn't stop bleeding. In fact, I already saw a spot of red showing through the first layer of the bandage. The darkness was closing in, my vision getting fuzzy.

"Andromeda. Eat this," Annabeth voice called from far away. I was floating now, into the blackness, away from reality. Or whatever weird world I was living in.

Anyway, I was vaguely aware of doing as she asked. The mush that I was licking off the ninja star tasted amazing. It tasted like Mrs. Fulleda's homemade brownies. And suddenly, I was brought back to the present. My eyes opened, focusing, sounds started to get closer, and the pain in my leg lessened from stabbing to dull.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief but Annabeth was still looking at my leg. I don't think she was happy about the blood showing through the bandages.

"Let's get her to camp," She said to Percy. "That hag is probably getting reinforcements as we speak. The mortals will be looking for us too."

Percy nodded then responded, "Grey Sisters?"

"They won't carry us again. Apparently they don't want a repeat of last time," Annabeth scowled.

The corner of Percy's mouth twitched as if he was about to smile, but he held it back. "So what then? Blackjack, or should we I.M. camp?"

"Neither. Where's Mrs. O'Leary?" Annabeth asked. Percy made a face.

"Are you sure we should shadow travel with her?" He looked at me, a worried expression on his face.

"We've got to. It's the fastest way to get her to camp," Annabeth sighed. Percy made another face but drew a bronze dog whistle from his pocket. He blew it in three quick, short bursts.

That's when I screamed. The shadows in the hallway seemed to darken, their fingers reaching out farther. Then a dog the size of a garbage trunk was wedged in between the lockers in the hallway. It barked once, then twice, then licked Percy.

I tried to force down the second shriek and ended up squeaking in a very undignified way. Percy tried-and failed-to hold back a grin. The giant Mastiff barked again and tried to face me. Unfortunately for it, the hallway was way too small for that.

"Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said over another loud bark, looking at the dog. "We need you to get us to camp, alright? Pronto. Okay, girl?"

The dog, Mrs. O'Leary, _woofed_ and started to wag her tail, denting the lockers unlucky enough to be in harms way.

Percy walked towards Annabeth and me. "One, this is my pet hellhound. Two, what we're about to do is going to feel really weird, and you'll probably puke after it, but we gotta get to camp," He told me with an expectant look. I nodded and he continued. "We'll help you climb up onto her, then you just hold on."

"Tightly," Annabeth added grimly. I guessed that she wasn't a fan of…of whatever we were about to do.

They both helped me onto my feet. I was careful not to put pressure on my left leg.

"Down, girl," Percy commanded. Mrs. O'Leary obediently laid down. "Here we go."

"What?" I asked. But Percy took my good leg and held it, putting all my weight on the injured leg. It hurt, but not as badly as I expected it to. What exactly had they given me anyway?

"On three," Annabeth said.

"On three what?" I asked loudly.

"You jump as well as you can," Annabeth sighed, as if this was the simplest thing in the world and I couldn't understand. "We're giving you a leg up."

"Wait, I've never-" I started.

"Three," Percy yelled, pushing me upwards with more strength than I was expecting. They chucked me pretty far up, but I still had a little ways to climb. I grabbed at Mrs. O'Leary's huge, chain-link collar and scrambled up onto her back.

Annabeth climbed up next, much more graceful than I had been. Percy climbed up last. As soon as he was seated, Mrs. O'Leary stood up. I had to bend over to avoid hitting my head on the ceiling. I could hear voices coming toward us, no doubt searching for Roberts and me.

"Now Mrs. O'Leary!" Percy called. The hellhound barked in excitement and took off. I was jerked backwards but grabbed for the collar and clung to it, hooking my arm around the chain link. Just before we ran into the wall, the shadows in the hallway thickened, weaving into one massive shadow.

And then we dove into the shadow. At least I think that's what happened because all of a sudden, I was surrounded in darkness. I _hated_ the dark. I always had, ever since I was little.

We were going so fast, my face felt like it was going to peel off. I was shivering uncontrollably. I wanted off this ride. Now. That's when I passed out.

**A/N: **

**1) Is smushed a word? My spell check doesn't think so. Oops.**

**2) I don't get putting a disclaimer up on a _FanFiction_ website. It's FanFiction, of course the world your story takes place in doesn't belong to you! That's the whole point of FanFiction, right? Nevertheless, here's this: Percy Jackson, Camp-Half Blood, Mrs. O'Leary, and most other supernatural factors in my story do not belong to me. It all belongs to the genius Rick Riordan. However, the writing is mine, along with Andi.  
**

**3) Merry, Merry Christmas! (OR whichever late-in-the-year holiday you might celebrate!) I wish I could post the Christmas part of this story, but no one would understand what was happening considering it's farther into the story. Oh well. You can read it in like February. Review please!**


	6. Camp Half Blood Crash Course

I woke up to the sound of laughter. For a moment, I had no idea where I was. Was I at Andrea's apartment? Maybe that was her and her mom laughing. Had I slept longer than Andrea? That was a first.

I stretched and all of a sudden everything came rushing back to me. I flew up into a sitting position, holding my stomach. I felt like I'd just been wailed on. My entire body ached and I couldn't breath. Ashley. Roberts. Vampires? Percy and Annabeth. Camp? Mrs. O'Leary.

I was starting to suffocate now, my lungs paralyzed with shock and panic. Then there was a flash of blinding light and it was over. _What the…_

A pretty, athletic looking girl with brown hair poked her head in the room. She looked startled and I wondered if she had seen that strange flash of light too. She locked eyes with me then smiled.

"You're up! Finally. It's been a day and a half since you got here. I didn't know shadow travel took that much out of you," She said brightly, walking over to a table by the window and pouring a glass of what looked like apple juice. She popped a straw into the cup and handed it to me. "Drink up. That's probably all you should have for a while. We don't want to overdue it."

I just looked at her. Who was this girl, anyway? She raised her eyebrows and I took a sip. It tasted amazing, just like Starbucks' Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate. I drained it and the girl laughed.

"So what'd it taste like?" She asked. I looked at her, confused.

"You've never had any?" I asked.

"Of course," She scoffed. "Everyone's had Nectar. It's a necessity with the Ares cabin around. I just mean that it tastes different for everyone. What'd it taste like?"

This girl had to be crazy. How could the same drink taste different for everyone? Then again she was talking about a Greek god, so…

"It tasted like Starbucks. The hot chocolate they sell at Christmas time," I answered. She looked wistful.

"I haven't had Starbucks in a long time," She told me. "By the way, I'm Taika, daughter of Hecate."

"Tie-kah?" I asked. That was one of the weirdest names I've ever heard. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"It's Finnish for magic. My great-great-grandparents or something immigrated over here from Finland. Dad figured why not name me after my mother?" She explained. Too bad I was still confused.

She looked at me in disbelief. "What do they _teach_ you in school? Hecate is the goddess of magic. Duh."

"Right. Of course," I said, nodding very seriously. She looked as though she was deciding whether to laugh or punch me. I got the feeling this girl was stronger than she looked and was relieved when she cracked a grin.

"You are either going to fit in very well here or get beaten to a bloody pulp," She told me brightly, walking to the door.

"Thanks," I responded sarcastically.

"No problem. Now come on, Chiron and Mr. D want to talk to you," She responded, walking out the door.

I thought about going back to sleep. Or maybe I could get up and run. Out of this house, back to the familiar, buzzing city I'd grown up in. Or I could follow her.

A strong feeling welled up inside me, compelling me to follow her. Something about the things that she'd said and the things that had happened stirred something inside me. I found myself walking out that door and jogging stiffly to catch up with her. She glanced over her shoulder. I guess that she'd figured I'd follow eventually. For all I knew, she could've done this with a hundred kids already, kids just like me. She could have left them there and known that each would come running, wanting to know about this new world.

This house was huge. We walked down two flights of stairs just to get to the main floor. When we walked into the main room, I froze. On the wall was a leopard's head. A growling leopard's head. It was _alive_. I nearly bolted back up the stairs.

Taika turned back and looked at me. "What are you-" She cut off when she saw what I was looking at. "Oh, don't mind Seymour, he's friendly…most of the time."

"Seymour?" I asked shakily.

"The leopard," She said simply. I nodded again and followed her out of the room. _Where am I__?_ I wondered for the thousandth time.

"Chiron? Mr. D?" Taika asked politely as we walked through an open screen door out onto a huge, wraparound porch.

My mouth nearly dropped open. Here I stood on this huge porch, part of this huge house, looking out at lush, green, rolling hills. In the distance, Ancient Greek style buildings stood sparkling in the sun. The blue, blue sky was cloudless, which was odd considering it was supposed to be raining the entire week.

There were dozens of kids running around in orange t-shirts, all of them saying, "Camp Half-Blood" on them. There were half-goat, half-human creatures trotting around in the midst of all the children.

_Satyr_, a quiet voice whispered in my head. I had no clue how I could know what these goat-men were called, but I did. And it scared me.

In the distance, a tidal wave rose up in the Long Island Sound. For a moment, I couldn't process what I was seeing. A tidal wave? In Long Island Sound? Oh my god. If that wasn't enough, there was someone trying to ride that wave. They fell off their surf board and the ocean suddenly stilled.

All of the campers spread out across the grassy hills had stopped what they were doing to watch and cheered when it was over. Then they went their separate ways like nothing had happened.

"Conner is going to get killed someday if he keeps this up," Taika muttered to herself, a worried look on her face.

That's when I turned towards her and saw something bizarre. A short, pudgy man in a leopard spotted shirt and purple shorts was glaring at a-a-

The man was not a real man. From the waist down, he was a white stallion. A centaur. Like in Harry Potter. My mouth did drop open this time. The centaur smiled at me.

"Hello, Andromeda. Would you like to sit down?" He asked me kindly.

"Hello, _Firenze_. My name is Andi," I grumbled but sat down anyway. The one in the leopard shirt, I assumed he was Mr. D, glared at me.

"Oh wonderful! Another ungrateful little brat. As if we didn't have enough of those," Mr. D griped, taking a sip of his Diet Coke. I glared back at him. Who was this guy, anyway?

Taika nudged my arm and shook her head, warning me not to provoke this guy. I ignored her…until he locked eyes with me. His eyes weren't exactly eyes-they burned with purple fire. I tried to look away, but found I couldn't. I could feel myself heating up from the inside out.

"Mr. D!" Chiron said sharply, and Mr. D broke eye contact, taking another sip of Diet Coke. Chiron turned his attention to me and smile. "Now Andi," he started. Hey, he'd gotten my name right! "I can imagine you would be confused to where you are and what you are-"

"I'm a demigod, right?" I blurted. "That's what that vampire thing said. Her name was like Llama Libby or something."

Chiron pursed his lips. "So Annabeth was correct. Lamia Lybis escaped the Underworld," Then he looked back at me. "So you know you're a demigod, then? You're handling it well, I must say. Would you happen to know who your godly parent is?"

I swallowed nervously and cleared my throat. "Actually, I've got no clue what a demigod is. Or a Lamia Lybis."

Mr. D, Chiron, and Taika stared at me like I was an idiot. "A demigod," Chiron explained. "is the offspring off a god and a human."

I remembered now, along with the Greek Myths that I had heard in school. "That's crazy. There's a reason it's called Greek Mythology," I said matter-of-factly. Thunder rumbled in the clear blue sky and I frowned.

"So I'm a Myth, am I?" Mr. D spoke up, fuming. "Little girl, I'd be careful what you say about the gods or Zeus may strike you down!"

"You're a god? I thought they were supposed to be attractive, not hung-over," I said skeptically. He did look hung-over. I would know, considering the father I had.

Mr. D's face contorted with fury and I leaned back in my chair. I looked down when I felt something binding my ankles to the chair legs. They were grapevines, and they were winding their way up my legs and binding my arms down.

"What the heck?" I yelled, tugging at the vines. They wouldn't give.

"Do you know who your talking to, little girl? Dionysus, God of Wine. I could melt your brain with a snap of my fingers," Mr. D snarled. I sucked in a breath, terrified.

"Mr. D," Chiron said nervously. "She is just adjusting. It is unsettling for half-bloods, learning that the Olympians are still alive and walking among us." He could say that again.

Mr. D released me and crossed his arms, still glaring.

"Thank you," Chiron said calmly. "Now Andi, are you positive your mortal parent has never told you about your godly parent?"

"My dad?" I said bitterly. "Absolutely not. He hasn't said a word to me in months." I scowled at the table. Now really wasn't the time to bring up my Daddy Issues.

"Oh goody. Now I have to go to Olympus and fix this," Mr. D said sarcastically. He snapped his fingers and was gone.

"What's his problem?" I muttered.

Taika spoke up. "Andi, every demigod is supposed to be claimed by their thirteenth birthday. The gods swore on the River Styx that they would claim every last child they had after the Titan War. That oath is binding and serious. And here you pop up at fourteen and a half and we have no idea who you are. This is bad. This is really bad."

I looked at Chiron and raised my eyebrows. I could not be causing all this trouble. He sighed.

"Taika is correct. The gods swore. A goddess, it seems, has broken that oath. It's very serious," Chiron confirmed. I closed my eyes. Great. Perfectly lovely. My mother, my all powerful goddess of a mother, didn't want me anymore than my alcoholic father.

"In the mean time," Chiron said. "You should be given a tour. Follow me Andromeda!"

And with that, he clopped off the porch, leaving my head full, my thoughts swirling and confused. I did the only thing I could do and followed him.

**A/N: More blinding white light! Does it have anything to do with Andi's mother? *Gasp!* Okay, sorry, I'm done being a loser. Anyway, please review! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks guys!**

**P.S. Harry Potter 3**


	7. Meeting Nico

**A/N: Minor language warning in this one. Nothing too serious guys, I heard worse than this in sixth grade.**

Camp Half-Blood looked as though it was in full swing. Tall, athletic kids were playing volleyball alongside satyrs. In the distance I could see a huge, narrow wall, and a few far off Greek style buildings.

Chiron clopped off across the grass, looking back at me expectantly. I hurried after him and walked at his side as we started toward the archery range. On the way, I saw plenty of kids of all ages running around in those neon orange t-shirts. They all paused and looked at me, watching until I had passed and probably after my back was turned to them. I looked up at Chiron.

"How come they all keep looking at me?" I asked, irritated.

"They're simply curious. These days we have more half-bloods coming in than we used to. Very few of them come in bloody and faint. Actually, I don't believe it's happened since Percy came to camp. They're also curious as to _why_ you were brought in by Percy and Annabeth. They feel that you must be a child of the Big Three-very powerful-to be brought in by those two," He replied.

"Why? I mean, why are they so special?" I asked, utterly confused.

"That's a story for another time," He said lightly as we arrived at the archery range. He walked to the front of a group of campers, saying good morning to some of them. They all fell silent and looked at him expectantly, waiting for the lesson to begin. The demigods were all armed with bows and quivers full of arrows, and went to work on the targets as soon as they were told.

All except for one anyway. He was tall, with a mop of black hair and olive toned skin. Unlike the other campers, he was wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. But when I looked closer, I saw that the t-shirt said _Camp Half-Blood _just like the others. He also wore a skull shaped ring and black Vans.

The guy was digging in the dirt with an arrow, his bow slung across his back. Everything about his stance screamed angsty.

"Nico," Chiron called. Mr. Angst looked up; he had dark brown eyes and a bored expression.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking first at Chiron, then at me. A look of comprehension crossed his face. "This the new camper?" I guessed he a year or so older than me.

"Yes, this is Andromeda-"

"_Andi!_" I hissed.

"-and I would like you to show her around camp," Chiron finished as if I hadn't interrupted him. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Why me?" He said in a what-did-I-ever-do-to-you voice, a look on his face to match.

I was just about to respond "Gee, thanks" but Chiron beat me to the punch, a warning look on his face.

"Because you won't do anything better with your time," He said flatly, daring Angsty to object.

Nico exhaled loudly, swung the bow and quiver over his head and propped them up to a tree trunk. Then he jerked his head in a motion for me to follow. He started back toward the Big House, his hands shoved in his jeans pockets. I walked along side him awkwardly, unsure of whether to speak or not.

"Andromeda, huh?" He asked, a smirk in his voice. I looked up at him-he was about a head taller than me-with a scowl and saw that there was a smirk on his face. I couldn't help but notice how good it looked on him.

"You think you're funny?" I snapped and his smirk widened to a grin.

"Nah. I think I'm hilarious," He said lazily. I felt an angry flush heating up my face.

"Really? Cause I think you're a jack-" I started, fully intending to say something extremely rude, but someone cut me off.

"Nico! Hi!" A girl called from the volley ball pit. She had long, dark hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. She waved and grinned at him, ignoring me completely.

Nico forced a smile that looked more like a grimace but the girl didn't seem to notice and went back to playing volleyball.

"What? Is your girlfriend too clingy?" I asked in an overly-sweet voice.

"Maya is _not_ my girlfriend," He replied flatly and it was my turn to smirk.

Just then, we reached the big house and he turned. I did the same and he pointed at the tallest hill, the one with the huge pine tree that I had noticed earlier. A glittering, golden rug hung on the tree's lowest branch. No, not a rug. A _fleece_, just like the kind you'd get from sheering a sheep. A mound of purple scales curled around the trunk of the pine and with a shock I realized it was a dragon. I backed up a step.

"That's Half-Blood Hill. The tree used to be a demigod named Thalia. She was Zeus's daughter and got attacked. When she was dieing, he turned her into a tree. But then she was brought back to life, yada, yada, yada, she joined the Hunters of Artemis, blah, blah, blah…" He trailed off, looking bored once more.

"What?" I asked. A tree? This place confused me beyond belief.

"You heard me," He said. "The dragon's name is Peleus. He guards the Golden Fleece. And those are the strawberry fields." He had turned around again and was looking across the creek at rows and rows of big red strawberries. My stomach rumbled looking at them.

Nico either didn't hear or ignored me and turned again. "Big House," He nodded at the big blue farmhouse/mansion, then turned yet again, and nodded in Maya's direction. "Volleyball pit. Got it?" He finished, raising his eyebrows at me. I nodded and he set off again, past the basketball courts.

We walked toward a building from which metal on metal clangs were issuing. "Gah, what is that?" I asked, rubbing my temples.

"Arts and Crafts," Nico explained unhelpfully.

"Excuse you?"

"You haven't ever decorated your own shield before, have you?"

"That is _not _Arts and Crafts."

"It is here. And that's the Canoe Lake," He told me. Sure enough, there were campers in canoes out on the lake, laughing and splashing each other. We kept walking through the lush, green grass. The sun beat down on my bare legs and warmed my hair. I found myself turning my face upward, the sun making the insides of my eyelids red.

I opened my eyes to find Nico looking at me curiously. "You know the god Apollo actually drives the sun across the sky every day? It's normally a Maserati, I've ridden in it before," He said conversationally.

"You're kidding!" I said incredulously.

"Nope."

"Then you're crazy. The sun is a super-hot ball of gas way far away in space."

"If that's what you want to believe," He said with a shrug, looking forward again. Truth be told, it would be incredibly cool if there were gods, they drove the sun, and the sun was a Maserati. I still wasn't completely bought yet though, even with the centaur, insane wine dude, and Greek vampires. There had to be a normal, logical explanation for everything that had happened. _Had_ to be. For now though, I just decided to roll with it.

"So, who's son are _you_? Zeus's, Apollo's, Hera's, _Aphrodite's_, maybe?" I asked in a tone you might use with a small child as they were telling you about their pet unicorn.

Nico narrowed his eyes at me in a glare and suddenly I felt very small, scared even. He had a gleam in his eyes that hadn't been there a few minutes ago. I found myself thinking that if I had seen him in a dark alley, I would've thought he was a dangerous and ran the other way. I also found myself thinking of death, which was a topic I usually tried to avoid thinking about.

"Do not patronize me," He said softly, his voice with an edge to it. I swallowed, my eyes still locked with his and could feel my hands shaking. I tried to draw in a breath but choked on it. Nico closed his eyes then looked away. Only now did I realize that we had stopped and were facing each other next to a huge amphitheater built into a hill.

"This is the amphitheater," Nico told me softly.

"How original," I muttered under my breath, recovering from the weird experience I'd just had.

Nico didn't react, but just started to walk toward the huge wall, which I now realized was none other than a climbing wall. Or two, depending on how you looked at it.

Then I screamed. Out of no where, the walls crashed together sending-was that lava?-spewing from the sides. Some campers that I hadn't noticed before, who were sitting on the very top of the wall, looked at me and laughed.

"That always happens. It's part of training," Nico said in an exasperated tone.

Everything from the past 72 hours came back, whipping up frustration, resentment, and confusion inside of me. I whirled on him and started shouting.

"_Training?_ What the _hell_ kind of place says, 'Do it fast or die?' You people are psychotic!" My chest was heaving and he was scowling at me, making me feel weak again. "And what kind of freak are you? Going around all moody and superior!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I knew I must have looked like a lunatic, but at the moment, I could honestly care less what anyone thought.

Nico glared. He looked deadly with narrowed eyes, looked nothing like he did when he smiled. His eyes seemed to grow darker, from rich brown to black, and start glinting. He looked like, well, a madman.

I turned and started back toward the lake, taking long strides. I don't know why, but I wanted to get as far away from Nico as I could. Apparently, he still had something to say.

Out of nowhere, someone grabbed my arm from behind. The grip was firm but not painful or rough. As he spun me around I had to stifle a gasp. When he touched me, a weird, tingly feeling spread up my arm and through my body. Now, I know you're thinking, "Aw! Andi's in love!" Yeah, not so much.

This feeling, it made my body feel tight, as if I were about to explode. And suddenly, his dark presence did not bother me.

I met his dark eyes with a glare of my own. "Let. Me. Go," I said quietly. He loosened his grip on my arm and let his hand fall, a surprised look on his face. He stepped back and looked me up and down- which might have been embarrassing any other time, but he seemed to be sizing me up, not checking me out.

"I'm the son of Hades, since you were wondering," He told me in a careful voice. The weirdest thing happened. His eyes grew a little vulnerable, as if he was worried what would happen when he told me that. But it was gone in a few seconds and he managed a quick, strained smile. "Come on. I've gotta show you the cabins."

**A/N: Don't freak out at this chapter and don't get me wrong, I love Nico to pieces. Andi's just a little...um, well, Andi-like. She doesn't get along with certain people very easily. Heh, heh. Don't worry, I'm sure they will be the best of friends...eventually...Review and I'll love you forever!**


	8. Meeting the Son of Death

The son of_ who? Hades? _I can't even begin to tell you how freaked out I was when Nico told me that. In fact, my mouth dropped open and I just about ran away screaming. Death was something I was scared of above all other things and standing next to the son of it was petrifying.

Nico looked at me for a long minute, then turned and started walking. "You coming?" He called over his shoulder.

I opened my mouth to say something once, then twice, then a third time, before giving up and following him. But this time, I made sure to keep my distance. Death. That and darkness. I hated them. And here was Nico, radiating both.

He seemed to ignore me as we headed toward the creek, and I wondered if it had anything to do with that vulnerability he'd shown. But that was stupid. His dad was Hades, the crazy evil guy with blue, fiery hair who hated everyone. Did sons of Hades even have emotions?

As soon as I thought that, I rubbed my temples, feeling like an idiot. My dad must have dropped me on my head when I was a child.

Of course Nico had emotions. He was a person after all. Besides, there was no way I had imagined what had happened back there.

"Here we are," Nico said, snapping me back to reality.

"Uh, what?" I asked. Looking back on it, I probably sounded like my father _had_ dropped me on my head.

"Well, we know you aren't a daughter of Athena," Nico muttered.

"Was that an insult?"

"Never mind," Nico sighed.

"Insult," I decided. He turned around and just looked at me.

"Are you always like this?" He said in disbelief.

"Are _you_ always like this?" I countered.

"Answer my question!" He cried.

"You answer mine first!" I yelled back at him.

"You…you are something else," Nico told me.

"Thank you," I said sarcastically, blinking a few times. I looked past him and raised my eyebrows. "This place is so _weird_," I breathed, looking at the cabins.

I stepped around Nico to get a better look. There were at least twenty cabins arranged in what looked to be a Greek omega. The twelve cabins in the main part of the omega where built around a central green. There were two big mausoleum looking buildings farthest back. On the right, there was a cabin with grass on the roof, a dollhouse looking thing, and a silver, slightly glowing cabin. On the left was a blood-red cabin with barbed-wire on the roof, a shabby looking cabin that looked as though it belonged at a _normal _summer camp, and a cabin that had a door like a bank vault.

On the two wings of the omega, the cabins weren't any more normal. There was one that was pitch black, green fire burning in torches attached to the walls of the cabin. Another was made of huge blocks with writing and runes all over them. Yet another was completely dark, the curtains drawn. There was another with white stucco walls-which was normal enough-but the colors of the rainbow were pained at the very top and bottom of the walls, like the trim you'd see on a house.

"Insane," I whispered, a grin spreading across my face. "I…I love it."

Nico stepped up beside me. "See, this place isn't so bad, after all," He said looking at me, a smile on his face. Our differences momentarily put aside, I smiled back at him. I found myself thinking it was crazy what a smile could do to someone. It could light up there face, making them look like a whole new person.

I looked back to the cabins and was horrified to find myself blushing. No way I was going to let him get to me like that. So I started toward the cabins-particularly the one that had dozens of reflective orbs, of all sizes, built into the wall of the building.

"Come on, Death Boy, I want to know why that cabin is the worlds biggest mirror."

**A/N: Okay, this is shorter than the last couple chapters I've posted. I'm also not very happy with it, but I wanted to update so here you are. I'll prolley end up changing it later, so be warned. :)**


	9. I Never Liked Barbie Anyway

Nico actually took me on a riveting tour of the cabins. The orb cabin belonged to the goddess Tyche. She was the minor goddess of good luck and fortune. The orb represented something that had to do with you not always having good luck. I couldn't tell you, to be honest. As the tour went on I found myself getting more and more distracted. First it was by the other cabins. Then it had been by the campers, who all looked at me curiously but didn't come any closer. Eventually it had been Nico.

I kept studying the way he talked, or how he gestured, or how his hair fell back into place after he pushed it out of his eyes.

I tuned in just long enough for him to show me his own cabin. It was, go figure, the black one with the green torches. Yeah, it was just a tad bit creepy, but the place was actually pretty cool once you really looked at it.

The only time anyone decided to talk to us was when we were just outside Malibu Barbie's Vacation Cottage. I'm not even exaggerating.

The place was all pastels and frilly stuff, the colors coordinated and plants in the open windows. Nico gagged a little bit when the door of the cabin opened in his face and a cloud of perfume escaped out into the open. I put a hand over my mouth, trying miserably to hold back laughter. He glowered at me, but unlike before, their was no threat behind the look. He was just annoyed.

The two girls that walked out of the cabin might as well have been Malibu Barbie, live and in person, and her faithful, perfectly made-up sidekick. They stopped when they saw us: Nico rolling his eyes and me grinning. Then they broke out in an intense, whispered conversation, shooting furtive looks at us every now and then.

Nico rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced as if he knew this wasn't going to be as pretty as the cabin. I looked from the two girls to Nico and back. Just in the nick of time too, because they had moved toward me, grins plastered on their faces.

One of the girls was gorgeous, Asian, with perfectly straight hair and a sly smile. The other was pretty too: blonde, green eyed, and so tan I was sure she'd had some help.

"Drew, Melanie," Nico greeted them unenthusiastically.

"Nico, hon, don't be rude. Introduce us to your friend," The Asian girl said, smiling at me. The smile did not reassure me, however.

"She's not exactly my friend," Nico muttered, but I raised my voice to talk over him.

"I'm Andi," I said, sticking out a hand for the girl to shake. She smiled at me in an, "Oh, how nice, but _no_ thank you," kind of way, leaning back a little bit as if I had a contagious disease.

"Pleasure," She responded, looking me up and down with an half-amused, half-pitying expression. "I'm Drew, head counselor of Aphrodite, Cabin Ten."

I looked over at the other girl, Melanie, waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. Actually, she was kind of creepy, looking from me to Nico and back again. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I wondered if this was normal for her.

"Well we really must be going," Drew said as if she were telling a joke. "Have fun, you two."

She and Melanie turned and walked off toward the Canoe Lake, their heads together like they were hatching a plan.

"What exactly was that?" I asked, staring after them.

"I don't exactly want to know," Nico told me dryly, looking at them as though they were atomic bombs ready to drop.

**A/N: Gods, this is even shorter than the last chapter. What is up with me? And this is kind of pointless, just a fun little chapter to introduce Drew-who I honestly don't like-and *foreshadow!* Gee, I wonder what it's *foreshadowing?* :) Happy New Year everybody!**


	10. So Now I'm a Broken Promise?

Seeing as he had no siblings to walk with, Nico led me back to the dining pavilion.

I absently wondered if he visited the Underworld for Christmas. If he did, what did the Lord of the Dead get this guy? A Ouija board? A three-headed puppy?

Anyway, I watched as lines of campers trucked up the hill toward the huge Greek pavilion. We reached the place ourselves and he told me to go sit with the Hermes cabin: a batch of kids with troublemakers' grins, upturned eyebrows, and sharp features. In other words, the kids who looked like my kind of people.

For a moment I just stood by the table awkwardly, waiting for someone to tell me what I was supposed to be doing. After ten or so kids sat down, a guy with wild brown hair and an even more crooked grin than the rest looked at me. His grin grew wider.

"You must be the new kid," He said slyly, as if we were sharing an inside joke. Something about this kid, who looked a few years older than me, made me want to grin back. So naturally, I did.

"Who wants to know?" I asked.

"Travis Stoll, Son of Hermes, at your service," He told me, bowing dramatically. I laughed and held out a hand for him to shake.

"Andi Smith," I introduced myself. He shook my hand then sat down, gesturing for me to do the same. When I did, I looked over at the kid sitting next to me. He looked exactly like Travis-same blue eyes, same curly hair. I looked back and forth between the two. I swear, they were identical.

Travis Number 1 laughed at my facial expression, which probably _was_ comical, then introduced Travis Number 2 as his younger brother, Connor. That was hard for me to believe considering they looked like twins, not just brothers. The Stoll brothers went down the table introducing the other Hermes campers.

We fell silent as Chiron cleared his throat and stomped his hoof.

"We have a new camper, as you all have heard," His voice rang out. "Her name is Andi Smith. As of right now, we don't quite know what cabin to place her in, but-"

"What?" A voice called out. "How old is she?"

"Why does it matter to you?" I asked loudly. Chiron shot me a warning look.

"So that's her?" A different voice shouted into the quiet.

"She's got to be over thirteen! How come she's not claimed?" Yet another voice yelled.

"That's so typical of the gods!" A runty kid with a scrunched up face shouted, standing up. He sat around a bunch of pale kids with black hair and black eyes. The runty kid was no different than the rest. "They always break their promises. It was only a matter of time!"

Chiron shot a warning look at him as well, his eyes switching from the kid, to the sky, then back.

"Sit down Ray," Percy sighed. "This is only the first time that a demigod hasn't been claimed."

"That we know of," Ray grumbled but sat back down anyway. People did what Percy said, end of story. I'd have to ask someone why.

"As I was saying," Chiron said with a look daring anyone to interrupt. "As of right now, we don't know who her godly parent may be, so the Hermes cabin will be playing host." A few people at my table groaned. Chiron ignored them. "Now without further a due, let's eat!"

**A/N: Gods, where did all the interesting(*cough* LONG *cough, cough*) chapters go? Jeeze, I hate writing that in-between-bigger-events stuff. The story needs the in between stuff for a backbone, I get that, but I hate posting it on it's own. I'm afraid y'all will get bored...rme. Am I just paranoid? Aaaanywaaaay, next chapter has something BIG, I promise!**

**A/N/N: Does the authors note work like a p.s.? Whatever, it doesn't matter. A Ouija board is pronounced Wee-gee. Like Luigi...only not like that at all...xD If now you still don't know what a Wee-Gee board is, Google is man's best friend. (But don't spell it Wee-Gee. Spell it Ouija. :) **


	11. Light and Lies

***WARNING, WARNING! This chapter contains bubbly camp songs! WARNING!***

The Amphitheater was incredible once you were seated in it. The Hermes cabin sat on the first row, next to the Apollo campers. The rest of the cabins followed and filled in the stone structure.

I noticed the fire pit first. The fire in it was always changing colors and getting higher, depending all on the mood of the crowd. The fire was bright, neon orange tonight. The flames climbed higher and higher as the Apollo cabin started jumping around, singing and playing a variety of instruments.

The Stoll brothers pulled me to my feet during one particular song about a dryad and a satyr.

"_My best friend, a satyr, was talking to me. He said, 'Yesterday I came across a pretty tree. The pretty little dryad is so right for me. Should I get down on one knee?'" _The campers sang, all the guys getting down on one knee and taking a random girls hand. It was obvious they had rehearsed all of the motions many times before.

I, on the other hand, just stood there awkwardly. That is until Travis and Conner started singing right into my ear.

"Stop! Hey, cut it out!" I laughed when they took one of my arms each and started making me do the motions to the song. I finally broke and sang along with them the best I could.

"_My best friend, a satyr, was talking to me. He said, 'Yesterday I asked her to marry me. The pretty little dryad was so happy! I'm really, really glad I got down on one knee!'"_

At the end of the song the camp dissolved into laughter and conversation. The fire was brighter than ever, the campers buzzing with excitement. When Chiron pounded his hoof on the stone floor, the demigods fell mostly silent.

"Just a few announcements for tonight," Chiron started, ignoring the side conversations. "We will play Capture the Flag next Wednesday!" A roar went up through the crowd. A group of big, mean looking kids pounded their weapons on the stone steps.

"The game will be Athena versus Nemesis. Also, keep in mind that the dryads keep finding gum and wrappers all over the camp. If this keeps up, the campers responsible will have kitchen duty!" A few kids made faces at that, as if remembering their own experiences with kitchen duty.

Campers started filing out of the amphitheater until that annoying little brat, Ray, stood up and started shouting. "What about the new girl! It's been two days since she's been here and she isn't claimed! What's going to happen to the gods for this? They're just going to ignore demigods now?"

Most of the campers stopped and turned to face him. A few demigods groaned, others laughed at him.

"Aw, Ray, let it go!" Someone yelled.

"No!" He yelled right back.

"Well, gee, Ray. If it matters so much to you, then go to Olympus and demand she be claimed," Someone mocked him. The crowd snickered.

"Hey, what cabin d'you think she belongs in anyway?" A random Apollo camper asked, looking at me curiously.

"Aphrodite?" Someone called to my horror. "She's hot enough!"

I flushed bright red. Drew, head counselor of Aphrodite, stood up, trying to smother laughter.

"As if," She smirked, looking down at me with that same half-amused, half-pitying expression. I've never thought I was exactly pretty and I didn't necessarily care about my looks, but to be called ugly in front of an entire camp? That struck a nerve.

"Athena?" Someone else asked. A burst of laughter came from the very top of the amphitheater and I knew who it had come from. I'd get back at Nico for that.

"Nah," A Hermes kid-John maybe?-answered. "She doesn't have blonde hair and grey eyes. I mean, every kid in Athena has blonde hair and grey eyes. Common sense."

The camp was quiet, thinking about who my mother could be. Some people were looking at me, others staring off into space.

"Demeter?" A blonde girl called out. Travis grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. Turning her gaze to me, she asked, "Do plants go crazy around you?"

I thought back to first grade and the lima been project. My bean had hardly broken through the surface of the dirt. I made a face and shook my head.

"There's always the minor gods," A familiar voice called out. I turned to see Taika looking at me expectantly. "You could be a child of Hecate. Here, say this: 'Mother Hecate, I ask for magic. Fire.'"

"Um, okay," I said awkwardly, all eyes on me. "Mother Hecate, I ask for magic. Fire."

I waited for something to happen…and waited. Finally Taika sighed, "Never mind."

And so it went on.

"Do you like rainbows?" Asked a huge kid with a hard face.

"Not particularly."

"Never mind."

I'm not a child of Iris.

"Do you have good luck…er, for a demigod?" A girl with red hair asked.

"Is that some kind of joke?"

I'm not a daughter of Tyche either.

"Do you win at games, or things like that, often?" An athletic looking guy asked.

"_That_ was definitely a joke."

Nike was not my mother.

The campers were stumped. Even Chiron looked puzzled. For the most part he studied me, I guess trying to find similarities to other heroes he'd trained. His horse half skittered nervously.

"Well there are exceptions. She could very well be a child of Aphrodite, Nike, Tyche, or Iris. Just because she isn't a stereotypical child…" Chiron spoke up, trailing off. Then he looked toward Ray and his siblings. "There is a goddess you seem to be overlooking."

This time _I _laughed out loud. "You're kidding, right? I look noth-" I broke off when a purplish glow surrounded me. The camp was frozen. Some looked shocked, others confused. Some even looked horrified. I looked up at the symbol over my head. It was a purple, holographic image of a balance scale.

Chiron closed his open mouth and walked forward.

"All hail Andromeda Smith, daughter of Nemesis, goddess of revenge."

There was silence. The camp just stared. No one looked like they believed what had just happened. Why was it _that_ shocking that I was a child of Nemesis? Sure, I was surprised-I looked nothing like that cabin-but I wasn't speechless.

Maya, Nico's not-so-secret admirer, stood up and raised her eyebrows. "She-she's got blue eyes." She said it as if having blue eyes was the same deal as having a third arm. I raised my eyebrows back at her.

Ray stood up next to Maya. "And she's got…_freckles!_"

Gee, I hadn't noticed.

A third child of Nemesis stood up. "Guys, chill out. She looks a bit different. So what?"

He made his way down to the front of the amphitheater and walked up to me, sticking out his hand.

"I'm Jack Hanson, head counselor of Nemesis. Welcome to the family," He smiled. I shook his hand and smiled back, but something felt wrong about the word 'family.' I frowned to myself and looked at my hands. They were tingling and pricking as if they'd gone numb and were just now waking up.

I brushed the feeling off, moving to follow Jack back to their-_our_-cabin. It was a deep purple color, almost black, and had a balance scale hanging above the door. I knew that Nico must have told me about it, but it wasn't as though I was actually listening.

The inside of the cabin was completely different than I thought it would be. For one, it wasn't completely depressing. True, the ceiling was black, but the walls were a nice, girly shade of purple. The bunk beds each had their own sheets, reflecting the personalities of the kids who slept there. The bathroom was clean and shiny. The trunks lining the walls were covered in stickers and pictures. It definitely wasn't what I'd been expecting.

"So, Andi, you can have that bunk in the corner," Jack told me, gesturing to a sad looking bunk with old, musty looking sheets. It was better than nothing. "And until you get some clothes of your own, Maya can loan you some."

I nodded and thanked him, walking over to my bunk and sitting down. The mattress was worn but comfortable.

"Here," someone snapped, dropping clothes on my lap. I looked up and saw the famous Maya glaring down at me. I shrank back from her glare and raised my eyebrows.

"Thank-"

"Save it," Maya said sharply, narrowing her eyes. "You don't belong here. There is no way you're a child of Nemesis."

I blinked, then blinked again. "Okay, well thanks for the clothes," I said lightly. She shot another glare at me then turned on her heal. "You might not want to let Mom hear you call her a liar," I blurted out. Maya froze and I wish I hadn't said anything. Her fists clenched and she stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

My new siblings looked from the closed door to me in surprise. I made a face at them-very mature, I know-but it did the trick and made them stop looking at me.

Even after Jack called lights out and my siblings had fallen asleep, something that Maya had said was bugging me. What if she was right? What if I wasn't a child of Nemesis? Could gods accidentally claim kids? Or maybe Nemesis got me confused with some other demigod.

My hands started to tingle again, just like they had after I'd gotten claimed. I held them up in front of my face and looked at them. I still don't know whether it was my imagination or not, but my hands looked as though they were glowing.

Impulsively, I flipped the sheets back and rose from my bunk. I walked to the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind me and locking it. The room was dark, the only light coming in through a small window. Apparently children of Nemesis weren't afraid of the dark, not like I was.

_Hold out your hands,_ A voice in my head whispered. _Think light._

I had to be crazy, but I did what the voice said. A tiny ball of light, no bigger than a marble, flared in my palm. I sucked in a sharp breath.

Nemesis was lying.

**A/N: Please, if you have a heart, do not make fun of the Satyr Song. Yes, that is what I named it. Considering I couldn't write a song to save my life, I am proud of those stupid little lines!**

**Anywaaaay, this chapter. Gods on Olympus, it gave me a freakin' headache. It WAS NOT working with me. I owed you amazing reviewers an update though, so here it is. Review you guys! Let me know how craptastic this is. Maybe it'll motivate me to write better! ;D**


	12. There Goes My Dirty Little Secret

"Ow!" I yelled, falling backwards and cracking my head on the concrete floor of the Arena. I was having my first lesson on swordplay.

Two things you need to know. One: I suck even worse than a nine year old who's been at camp for four days. Two: I was just about ready to punch Percy in the face. He was apparently the best swordsman at camp, so he taught the beginners how to spar. At the moment, I was getting wailed on. This was the sixth time I'd found myself on my back, looking up at the bright blue sky.

"Sorry," Percy said sheepishly, offering me a hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. "You know, I don't think that sword's right for you."

"None of the swords have been 'right for me,'" I grumbled, dragging my feet as I followed him to the weapons shed at the other side of the arena. Percy ignored me and took the sword in my hand, switching it with a shorter blade. I hefted it and frowned. This one was better, but not by much. Nevertheless, I followed Percy back into the center of the arena.

All around us the Nemesis cabin was going at it, slashing at each other. I was amazed that someone hadn't been killed yet.

Maya especially was vicious. She was sparring with Jack and looked pissed. The chick was all offense. Jack was so busy blocking her strikes that he couldn't even get one of his own in.

I turned my attention back to Percy. He was showing me how to lunge, strike, and block with my sword. We worked for a long time, the sun high in the sky, beating down on us. By the time a conch horn blew in the distance, I was soaked with sweat. Nasty.

"That actually wasn't too bad for your first time with a sword," Percy told me as we headed out of the arena with the Nemesis cabin. "And anyway, a sword might not be your weapon. You might be a knife fighter, or an archer."

"Yeah," I said halfheartedly. I doubted I was much of a fighter with any weapon.

"Seriously," He reassured me before finding Annabeth and jogging over to her. I looked down at my feet. It was back to the dining pavilion for lunch.

"Hey," Jack called, causing me to look up. He was standing ahead of me and looking at me with concern. "You okay? You look kind of queasy."

I tried for a smile. "Queasy, really? I'm fine, just a little tired."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay then, if you say so."

"Hey, Jack?" I asked, a hopeful feeling fluttering in my stomach.

"Yeah?" He looked at me curiously.

"What can children of Nemesis do? I mean, do you-we-have any special tricks?" I asked, hoping he'd say something like, "Oh, yeah, we can form these cool balls of light in our hands!"

No luck.

"Hmm, not really. The minor gods don't really have kids with spectacular powers. We are good fighters though, so we're useful," He said thoughtfully, then turned a little embarrassed. "Uh, we're driven by revenge a lot. Depending on the situation, it could be a good or bad thing."

I nodded, the dread crawling back into the pit of my stomach. Why did Nemesis claim me if I so obviously wasn't her daughter? Why did my real mother just forget to claim me? You'd think the gods would have some kind of calendar or list to keep track of their kids. "Oh, yes, it's my kids thirteenth birthday! Time to send them to camp and claim them!" How did you forget you had a kid? How did you not realize that there were one too many demigods in your cabin?

Resentment built up inside me. What the heck was my mom's problem? Is one lousy daughter too much to bother her? All she needed to do was spend a minute of her time and send a little holographic message to hang over my head.

I didn't realize how angry I was until after we sat down. A Nemesis camper named Wayne was looking at me with one eyebrow raised. I was suddenly aware that I was grinding my teeth and stopped, looking down at my hands. That did not help.

I looked up, looked anywhere but my hands, and met dark, chocolate colored eyes. I just stared into them for a minute before looking at the face they belonged to. Nico. Of course. He was looking at me, eyebrows furrowed. I swallowed and looked away, jiggling my leg, waiting for lunch to be over.

Jack nudged me with his elbow. "You okay?"

"No. No, I'm not," I said quietly, swinging myself off the bench. I tried to walk out of the pavilion without drawing any attention to myself. Apparently people didn't get up and walk out of lunch very often, 'cause I drew a lot of eyes.

"Andi!" Taika called quietly as I walked past. I didn't look back as I skipped down the steps, striding across the grass. I didn't exactly know where I was going, I was just getting away from there.

I passed the cabins and took off at a run, heading toward the Big House. The cold water chilled my lower legs as I splashed through the creek. By the time I reached the big blue farmhouse, I was breathing hard. The sword training was coming back to bite me and my limbs felt heavy. Something, though, was compelling my forward, into the house. I passed through the screen door and up the stairs, all the way to the top floor.

_The ceiling, _That random voice in my head whispered. I looked up and sure enough, there was a trap door. I grabbed the string connected to the door and pulled down, moving backwards as the stairs slid down to the floor.

I hesitated, wondering whether I should go up or not. Something drove me forward, a feeling in my gut. I climbed up the stairs and looked around. The attic was huge, knickknacks and mementos from previous demigods scattered all over the place. There were bent weapons, preserved parts of monsters, and dented shields littering shelves and tables. A dusty stool in the corner stood empty and I wondered what its purpose was.

A glittering object under the stool caught my eye. I moved closer, crouching down to get a better look. It was a diamond, a huge diamond. Wait, no, it was a _knife_. The knife was made of diamond with a bronze core running through it. The hilt was studded with tiny diamonds and the grip was leather. The knife was roughly sixteen inches long and looked as though it had never been used. I picked it up, wrapping my fingers around the grip, working them until the leather felt comfortable in my hand.

Standing up, I held the knife in front of me. I thought light, concentrated hard on it, and the knife started glowing white. The diamond allowed the light to shine through the blade, casting a warm glow around me.

"Incredible," I breathed. "Just like it was made for me."

I held out my palm beside the weapon and summoned that tiny prick of light. If this was only the beginning of what I could do…

"Who…" A voice came from the doorway. I jumped, clenching my hand closed to extinguish the light, and hid the dagger behind my back. I looked fearfully into those dark brown eyes, wide with surprise. "Who are you?" Nico asked, incredulous.

Aw, crap.

**A/N: "I'll keep you my dirty little secret, dirty little secret, dirty little secret. Who has to know?" Yeah, I know, Andi's secret isn't necessarily dirty. AND this song is completely out of context, but i like it...and it's stuck in my head...**

**Yes, a diamond knife. But hey, it's got a celestial bronze core just perfect for slaying some evil little nasties. xD Anyway, I hope you guys like. Review, let me know what you think. Is there something I need to fix or do better? Did I screw up and leave out a comma? Did I put one where it isn't needed? D'you have a question? Is it confusing at all? Lemme know, y'all. :)**


	13. Happy Camper

Nico and I stared at each other for a long minute. Then he walked toward me and looked at the knife. He eyed it carefully, taking in all the small details. When he looked back up at me his eyebrows were knit in confusion.

"Where did you get this?" He asked me. "I've never seen anything like it before."

I looked at the empty stool. "Under there."

He followed my gaze and frowned. "Well come on," He said, turning around and heading toward the drop-down ladder.

"Woah, what?" I asked, not leaving the spot I was in. He looked back at me, trying to smother a smile.

"Follow me," He said slowly, pointing down at the ladder. I scowled at him.

"Where are we going?" I asked warily. He raised his eyebrows.

"Where do you think? You aren't supposed to be up here and if you picked up a random knife, we've got to tell him," Nico explained.

"I'll just put it back," I responded. "No harm done."

"If you picked that thing up from under a dusty stool in a creepy attic and make it glow, then it wasn't a fluke. We've got to tell Chiron," Nico argued patiently.

"But-" I protested. My voice failed me for a second. He'd seen the light and how I'd made the knife glow. "Nico, you can't tell anyone about the light," I rushed. "Not Chiron, not Mr. D, no one."

He looked hard at me, sizing me up, and then closed his eyes. "Why not?" He asked.

"I-I don't know who I am, godly parent wise. I don't know what's happening. I just know that I'm not a daughter of Nemesis. Nico, I just need time to sort this out, okay? Please keep this a secret, _please_," I half-begged, squeezing his arm to emphasize that last please. Under any other circumstances I would never have begged, but I was scared. Yep, I said it. I was terrified.

Nico opened his eyes and nodded. "Fine, it'll be our little secret," He agreed and I grinned in relief. He matched my grin with one of his own. Uh-oh.

"What?" I asked cautiously.

"Nothing," He shrugged. "It's just that I'm relieved, that's all."

I gave him a puzzled look. "Why?"

His grin widened, making him look like that whole new person again. As suspicious as I was, I couldn't help but smile back. "You aren't a daughter of Nemesis. That means that I don't have to avoid you."

"Why would you avoid me if I was in Nemesis?" I asked indignantly.

"Because Nemesis girls are crazy," He answered simply, climbing down the ladder. I followed, trying to decide whether to laugh or not.

"Why are you relieved. I thought you'd jump on the chance to avoid me?" I replied. He looked at me as we walked through the hallway.

"Nah, you call me out on things that I do. You treat me like a normal guy, like I'm not the son of Death. I'd take that over respect and fear any day," He told me quietly, as if he wasn't used to telling people about things like that. To be honest, I wasn't used to hearing people say things like that. Maybe that's why I stayed quiet, shocked and blushing, as we left the Big House.

"Well, Death Boy, I'm glad you feel that way. You know why?" I asked, grinning, as we headed back to the dining pavilion.

"Why?" He asked me, a wry smile on his face.

"Because," I shrugged, imitating him. "You will never get rid of me."

He laughed, throwing his head back, his dark hair glinting in the sun. I squinted up at him with a grin, gripping the diamond knife, and forgetting entirely about the dread inside of me. Right now, I was a happy camper.

**A/N: Gods. I promised myself I wouldn't make you guys read this short crap anymore. Alas, the story had other ideas and so this mini-chapter was born. I like what happens in it, but I think Nico is _seriously_ OOC. Am I paranoid or do you think so too? Be brutally honest, I can take it.  
**

**Anyway, here's some soft, minor Andico[credit goes to Melikecake for that one :D]. You all knew it would eventually be written in, so no surprise. And the awful pun at the end? Yep, that pun is completely intended.**


	14. Side Effects of Being a Demigod

"My lady," The voice hissed, echoing all around me like surround sound. "I've done what you have asked, I have claimed the girl."

I stood-more like floated in place, actually-in complete darkness. Everything around me was pitch black, smoke clogging my lungs. I started to hyperventilate out of panic.

"You have done well, Nemesis. You will be rewarded to…keep the balance," A softer, more sophisticated voice answer. I froze. Nemesis _was_ lying.

"Thank you, my lady," The raspy voice, my supposed mother, replied.

Then the dream changed. I stood in a snowy field, sunlight glaring down as the icy wind cut through my light windbreaker. The sun reflected off the snow blindingly, but somehow I wasn't affected. My eyes adjusted to the harsh light, taking in everything. For as far as I could see, all there was was snow. Snow here, snow there, snow _everywhere_.

"Gods," I mumbled, then frowned. Camp Half-Blood was already changing me. It was changing the way I thought, the way I dressed, and now the way I talked.

The world around me was flat in all directions, nothing standing out against the horizon. I had a feeling I wasn't in Kansas(or New York) anymore.

"Ready your weapon, child," That softer voice from before told me. Even in this snowy wasteland, her voice still echoed. "They will arrive soon. Ready yourself before this dream becomes reality. Train hard, embrace your abilities, and fight bravely against your enemies. Do not fail me, child of…_Nemesis_. I had that blade crafted for you specifically."

I whirled around then looked up at the sky. "Who are you?" I croaked, then yelled the next part. "What do you mean?"

"The moment you fail, the moment you become a hindrance instead of an asset, I will not hesitate to rid myself of you, _hero,_" The voice sneered. "Now ready yourself!"

"What are you saying? Tell me! And I'll fail you if I want to, you unhelpful hag!" I hollered defiantly, at the top of my lungs. I got no answer. I glowered at nothing in particular and kicked the snow. I'm sorry, but something about anonymous, mocking, unhelpful, invisible dream women really pissed me off.

But the person, being, goddess, whatever she was did spark my interest by mentioning the knife. It was made for me, like actually made for _me_? Really? And what did she mean by 'Ready your weapon?' I was dreaming, so why would there be any monsters in my dream?

Nevertheless, I looked down. Strapped to my thigh was the diamond knife, the stones embedded in the hilt glittering in the sun. I unsheathed it, holding it out in front of me and twisting it around. It was incredible, captivating, the way the blade sparkled and glinted in the sun. It almost gave me a headache.

I remembered back to that afternoon, about a week ago, when Nico and I had gone back to the dining pavilion.

_Chiron stood at the head table, his horse half never fully still. The pavilion was buzzing with talking and laughter-a normal afternoon at camp. Kids quieted though as Nico and I came into view._

_I don't think they expected me to be laughing at Nico's wet shirt front. I had kicked water up into his face back at the creek when he'd called me annoying. His expression had been priceless. Right then, he was glaring at me. Black didn't dry very fast._

_Thinking back on it, they were probably more shocked that Nico hadn't sent me to the Underworld the hard way. I understood, all of a sudden, what he was saying about people treating him differently, being frightened by him. It must've sucked._

_Anyway, I held my head high as I headed toward Chiron, Nico slouching along behind me. He still looked pissed._

_Chiron's eyes immediately shot to the blade in my hand. I had to give him credit: for an old-as-dirt centaur, Chiron didn't miss much. He spoke in a low voice so he wouldn't be overheard. _

"_Where did you get that Andromeda?" He asked tensely._

"_In the attic, under the stool," I answered, just as quietly. His face grew grim._

"_Ah, so it's you. You are the demigod," He looked at me sadly, as if that knife had sealed my fate._

"_What demigod?" I demanded. Chiron hesitated before answering._

"_That knife," He started. "Was left here almost fifteen years ago. With it, an anonymous note was left. It said that when the right hero came along, the knife should be given to them. The note said that it was vital for the demigod receive the weapon."_

_I stared at him. "Wow."_

"_Wow, indeed," Chiron said gravely, looking out at Long Island Sound. I looked at the knife and swallowed. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach._

So the knife was meant for me after all. This mystery lady had ordered it made…just for me. This chick must've had high expectations for me. I wonder if she realized how badly I'd turn out…

I pushed the thought of my mind. No use thinking that way now. The women must have known what I was like. Somehow she still had faith in me, faith that I wouldn't 'fail her,' whatever that meant.

To be honest, I was crazy surprised about how calmly I was taking this dream lady. She comes, proves that I'm not Nemesis' child, then tells me that I'm supposed to be ready for…

_What exactly am I supposed to be ready for? _I asked myself, gripping my knife and looking around again. What enemy was she talking about anyway? No one had said anything about a major, threatening enemy.

You see, I'd been at camp a little over a week. I'd gotten somewhat better with a sword-even if I couldn't beat ten-year-old Wayne, my supposed brother-and I'd learned how to use a bow. I was more an archer than swordsman, hands down. By the third archery lesson with Chiron, I could hit a bull's-eye about half the time. That gave me some credit with Apollo cabin.

But my strong suit was knife fighting. Annabeth had started teaching me every day after I'd found the knife. Chiron still seemed worried about the blade and wanted me to learn from the best. Apparently, Annabeth and some Ares kid named Drake were the best two knife-fighters at camp. They took turns teaching me how to attack and defend, how to disarm and block. Something they stressed, above all else, was how only the quickest and cleverest could fight with a knife and come out alive. If you were going up against someone, knife on sword, you had to get in uncomfortably close. Then you'd have to work with your smaller blade, trying to block their sword and not get skewered, and still manage to wound them.

I'll admit, it was incredibly difficult. A few times, when I got frustrated, my control would break and light would shine through the blade. Annabeth's eyes had widened once, seeing the light, but I'd passed it off as the sun. She'd gone along with it, although she had still looked suspicious.

Eventually, I knew that I would completely blow my cover all together. I'd figured out that the light was linked to my emotions. One day I would get too angry or panicked and would show off my little magic trick. When that day came, I knew I would be in deep trouble. I had a feeling that this knife would only make the Great Unveiling-as I so sarcastically called it-ten times worse. I don't know why I felt like that, but the feeling was strong.

Drake called it the Demigod Gut. We just felt things, knew things. It was a side affect of being a child of the gods. That and the dreams, or rather nightmares. The dreams were more like vivid messages, like the dream I was in now.

"Look _my lady_," I mocked. "If you expect me to embrace this freaky light stuff and kick some enemy tail, you better start explaining." I grumbled that last part, squinting around and wondering how I could wake myself up.

Frankly, I was bored. That is until something slammed into my back and sent me sprawling.

It seemed that my body already knew how to fight, the training I'd gotten at camp just made me more aware of what I was doing, less impulsive. Fortunately, this meant that I was able to twist in mid air and face the thing that had tackled me. I jerked back, slamming my head even further down in the snow, when I saw the monsters face.

Another one of those Greek vampires. _Lamiai_, Annabeth had called them. According to her, they were cousins of the _empousai_, and looked like _dracaena_ from the waist down. Of course, I had no idea what _dracaena_ or _empousai _were or how they looked. All I knew was this: _lamiai_ were pretty girls until you looked through the Mist. Then they were slightly transparent with glowing red eyes. Does everyone remember Ashley and her crew? Oh yeah, and one thing I had managed to overlook the first time. The _lamiai _had two serpent tails for legs. Vampires that walked on snake trunks. Who would've thunk it?

Anyway, this _lamia_ was small, hardly worth any effort to kill. I just threw her under me, twisting my body over hers, and sat down hard on her stomach. Transparent or not, this chick had enough substance to be sat on.

I drew my knife out quickly, shoving it under her chin. She growled and struggled, snapping her fangs at me. I thought back to the school hallway-it seemed like a thousand years ago now-and remembered Percy's shot to Ashley's heart. I drove my dagger down into the _lamia's_ heart and she screamed, disintegrating to dust under me.

I almost laughed. Her monster dust made the snow yellow.

Then I heard a scream of rage behind me. I whirled, holding my knife out defensively in front of me and drew in a sharp breath.

"Aw, Styx," I groaned under my breath, looking at the army of _lamiai_ standing in front of me. They curved around where I stood in a semi-circle, and when I say army, I mean _army_. There were over a hundred, all glaring at me, all bent on destroying me.

So I gave in to my ADHD, let myself go on auto-pilot. Naturally, impulsively, I shot them the bird and charged.

**A/N: I told you I'd write longer chapters, did I not? Well here's this: flashbacks, dreams, and obscene hand gestures all rolled into one! xD**

**On a more serious note, I have done some research. And now, I am so freaking syked to write the rest of this story, however long that may take. (I'm an incredibly talented procrastinator.)**

**Anyway, I really hope to Zeus that you guys like this. The chapter was fun to write, for sure, even though I might not have edited it as well as I should... R&R? Maybe? Possibly? Please? Even if you don't, you could fave this story or add it to your alerts. Do either one and I'll get all giddy when I check my email. rme. I'm such a kid sometimes. Anyway, you guys rock, so much! 3**


	15. I've Got a Training Buddy?

Have you ever been dared to hold your breath underwater for as long as possible? You know how your lungs feel as though they are about to explode? And then there's that second when you surface, taking in that huge, filling gasp of air, like you'll never be allowed any more of it.

Well, that's what it was like when I woke up. It was like that dream was underwater and when I finally surfaced I just couldn't get enough oxygen. I sat bolt upright in my bunk, holding my stomach, and sucking in as much air as I could. It was dark, not yet early morning. I couldn't have been asleep long, but that dream had felt like it had lasted for hours.

I felt exhausted just thinking back on it, even though the memories were already fading. I remembered slashing through the crowd of _lamiai_, one finally getting the better of me. It had sunk its teeth into my neck, classic vampire style, and drained me until I'd fallen unconscious…or well, until I'd fallen conscious…

Either way, I'd been sucked dry by a giant mosquito. Oh yeah, I sure was a _great hero_ like the lady had-

The great, pissy dream lady. Oh my gods. It slammed into me with full force. Some goddess had chosen _me_ to fight _her_ enemies for her. This was so bad, _so_ bad. I was not an incredible fighter. I was hardly a decent one! Now I was supposed to 'embrace my abilities' and learn to kick some evil butt with my pretty little knife? Oh, and I'd almost forgotten. Miss Thang had also ordered Nemesis to falsely claim me!

What in Hades is _that? _I flung my sheets back, snatched up my knife, and stormed toward the cabin door. I could feel myself losing control, getting ready to blow. I'd rather not have witnesses. I flung the door wide, half-slamming it behind me. The camp was dark and silent, save for the monster sounds coming from the woods. I started toward the Canoe Lake then froze. Monster in the woods?

As you may have noticed, I am quite possibly the most impulsive fourteen-almost-fifteen year old demigod alive. Well, I'm just proving that statement by telling you that I whirled around and marched straight for the woods. Yep, I know. You are all shaking your heads in wonder. How could this girl be an even bigger idiot than I already thought she was? I never said I was smart.

Anyway, the woods were dark during the day, but at night? Wow. I was glad that I had my little ball of light all of a sudden. I didn't want to be walking through these woods in the pitch darkness. Even with the light, though, I could still only see about five feet around me on any side.

Every now and then, I would hear Dryads mumbling from inside their trees- probably wondering who was tripping over their roots this late at night. I ignored them and just kept walking, eventually lighting up my knife to help me see. I found it getting harder to keep the glow going as time passed. I obviously was new to using the light and couldn't keep it going for a long period of time.

My knife was barely glowing, hardly giving off any light, when I heard it. A rustling sound behind be. Ever so slowly, I spun around, cringing. The shadows seemed to grow around me, weaving together to form a solid mass. Just like in the hallway with Mrs. O'Leary. There was a sudden chill, the howl of a monster in the distance.

"Hello?" Someone asked from directly behind me. I jumped ten feet in the air and screamed so loudly, they had to have heard it in California. I jerked forward and twisted around, falling on my butt. Looming over me was a tall outline of a figure. It leaned down over me and held something up. A light flicked on, a small fire from a classic lighter, and cast a bit of light onto the face of the figure.

"Nico Di Angelo, I'm going to kick your ass," I growled, pushing myself to my feet and glaring at him. He raised his eyebrows at me, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. I glowered at him some more, the tiny fire casting strange light and flickering shadow across his face. He just kept looking at me with that same slightly amused expression.

I hate to say it, but I broke first. I dropped the glare and sighed, slumping back onto a tree. It thankfully wasn't a Dryad, just a normal tree, so it didn't push me off of it. "Where'd you come from anyway?" I asked him.

He just shrugged. "Not important."

"You pop up behind me out of no where, scare me to death, and say that where you popped up from isn't important," I said in disbelief, shaking my head. "You…are…"

"The son of Hades?" He suggested. I mulled that over, then nodded.

"Yep, that pretty much sums it up," I agreed. "But seriously, where were you? How'd you just show up here?"

"Shadow travel. You've shadow traveled on Mrs. O'Leary before, right?" He replied, smoothly ignoring the question of where he'd been.

"Mmm," I hummed as if everything was completely cleared up. We looked at each other for a second before he looked away. I noted how he looked at a tree to my left and tapped his fingers against his sword. The silence wasn't awkward like I'd expected. Instead it was just comfortable, like I'd known him forever. Maybe that's why I took a stupid, blind leap of faith and just started blabbing.

"Have you ever had any freaky dreams? One where you get messages and things?" I blurted out. He looked up at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because," I started nervously, swallowing and running a head through my hair. "I just, um, woke up…and I, uh, I don't…" I trailed off, figuring I just needed to start over. I took a deep breath and told him every last detail I could remember.

"Over sharing, I know," I finished, taking a breath and looking at him. He looked like he was deep in thought, his head slightly ducked down, his fingers still drumming on his sword. When he looked back up at me, his face was unreadable.

"Well, you can't just ignore it," He told me bluntly. "If she said to start using the light stuff-" He shrugged. "-you might as well do it."

I gave him a sarcastic look. "Yeah, I'm just gonna start juggling balls of light in the middle of Archery class. That'll go over well."

He looked at me flatly. "Ha, ha. I'm not saying that you should do it in public."

"Oh, so I'll just sit in the bathroom and start juggling balls of light?"

"Are you always like this?" He asked, exasperated. I cocked my head and pointed at him.

"One, you've already asked me that. Two, you should know by now that yes, I am always like this," I said cheerfully, the anxiety falling off my shoulders. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Look," He told me with a slight scowl. "I'll meet you out here, this spot, tomorrow during your free time."

I was shocked and it must have showed. For a moment, that more kid-like Nico showed through his older, harder shell. "Just be here," He groaned.

I cracked a grin. "Aw, Death Boy, you care!"

"In Hades' name, shut up," He grumbled, walking past me, back toward the cabins. I followed him.

"Nico cares about others!" I sing-songed quietly. Nico scowled. "Death Boy's a big softie!"

**A/N: Ahh, see, another one of _those_ chapters. Minor Andico/setting things up for later in the st-whoops, nevermind, I'm not gonna finish that thought. Seriously guys, the next two chapters is where it's at. Your questions of, "Is her mother Hecate/Eos/Aurora/Hestia(gasp!)/Artemis(double gasp!)?" shall finally be answered. **

**Oh and yes, Nico is a big softie...deep down...:)) **


	16. Capture the Flag is Not My Game

"What?" I demanded, looking at Jack in complete disbelief. "You want me to do what?"

We were in the dining pavilion, dinner in full swing. We'd given the gods a burnt offering of food and had just started to eat when Jack Hanson had pounced.

"Listen Andi, it wasn't my idea, but it's a good one. We know how much time you spend with Nico when he's here. If we want to win, you need to, er, distract him," Jack said urgently. I just looked at him, my mouth half open.

"I do not spend a lot of time with him, gods! And whose idea was it?" I snapped. I could not believe he was actually suggesting I do this. It was…an awful idea, to say the least. Jack looked at me nervously.

"Well, um, Drew's idea," He muttered, stuffing some olive and pepperoni pizza in his mouth. I thought back to the day I'd met Drew, how she'd talked to me like I was a charity case. I also thought about how Melanie had been studying me and Nico. The Aphrodite, goddess of love, cabin. I should have known.

"Oh," I said in a low voice, glaring at Jack. "Oh, no _way_. Seriously, Jack? Send Maya to do it! She'd be happy to!"

Jack looked at her, then back at me, swallowing his pizza. "Andi, c'mon! It'll only work with you! And Drew knows about these things. Just do it for your big brother, please?" He pleaded, looking at me with puppy dog eyes. I had the strongest urge to inform him that I was not, in fact, his little sister. I didn't though, and I didn't laugh at those puppy dog eyes either. Man, he sure had perfected that look. I looked at the sky, the sun just starting to set, and exhaled loudly.

"Gods, fine! Fine, but you owe me. You owe me big time," I caved. He grinned at me, which was gross considering he had food in his mouth. Boys, what can you do?

"Sweet! Thank you Andi! We are so gonna win now!" Jack crowed, sliding down the table to inform the rest of the Nemesis campers.

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," I muttered to myself.

All right, let me explain. It was Wednesday, about a week and a half after I'd gotten here. Tonight was Capture the Flag. I was excited, duh, until Jack had sat down across from me and told me my position. I was to stand by our flag, as one of our guards, and wait for Nico to shadow travel over. Then I was supposed to, er, distract him. Apparently, Drew felt like playing matchmaker and Capture the Flag all at the same time.

The camp was divided. Nemesis had one flag, Athena the other. Athena had recruited the big cabins to be on their side. They got Percy-who was nearly unstoppable, Ares cabin-the best fighters at Camp, Apollo-incredible archers, Nike-athletic and competitive campers, Hephaestus-great weapons, and Hermes, who were great with distractions. Iris, Tyche, and Demeter had also been recruited, along with Nico. More manpower for them. Nemesis, on the other hand, had rounded up Dionysus-a cabin that consisted of one camper, Aphrodite-who did nothing at all, Hypnos-all they do is sleep, and Hecate. Hecate was actually useful, thank the gods.

Anyway, the point was that I was being used to help when the game. Fantastic.

Before I knew it, the dryads were clearing the tables, the plates being replaced by armor. Helmets with read horsehair plumes littered our team's tables. Swords, bows, and spears appeared along with breastplates and knives. It was a demigod's heaven.

The camp scattered around, armoring up and getting their weapons. Wayne helped me figure out how to put on a breastplate. My diamond knife was strapped to my thigh, that dorky helmet on my head. At least everyone else was wearing one too.

Chiron pounded his hoof on the floor of the pavilion, right over the long, filled in crack that ran along the marble. I absently wondered how the crack had gotten there.

"Capture the Flag teams: Nemesis versus Athena!" Chiron called out. Athena and their allies cheered, an Athena kid named Malcolm waving their flag around. It was silvery with an owl on it. It was almost like the owl was flying, the way it rippled as the flag was waved.

Nemesis and their allies, including me, yelled and cheered right back, holding our flag high. It was deep purple with a balance scale on it. The scale, just like the owl, seemed to move with the flag. It looked as though it was tipping, evening out, then tipping again.

The trash talking and cheering died down as Chiron continued: "You all know the rules! First team to capture the other team's flag and enter into their own territory wins!"

The camp cheered and hollered, rushing down toward the woods. The campers split by their teams and dashed into the woods, assuming the positions. I darted after Jack, who was holding our flag, and followed as he weaved through the trees. We ran for a long time, reaching our destination just after we heard the conch horn, signaling the beginning of the game. Jack climbed up the cliff swiftly, setting up the flag on a tiny ledge not too far from the ground. He dropped to the ground and looked at me intensely.

"Guard this the best you can, alright? When Nico shows up, work your magic, okay? I gotta go. Work with the other guards," Jack said in a low voice, darting back into the trees. I glanced at Taika, who was another guard, and nodded. I would stand in the shadows, under the ledge, while she and the other two guards hid in the trees.

We waited for a long time. Every now and then, distant combat and battle cries rang out through the woods. I was itching to be somewhere, do something other than just stand there. I was about to act, leave my post, when the shadows grew darker around me. A chill ran down my spine, the wind whipping through the trees violently. I whirled around, facing the cliff where the shadows were darkest, and waited. Hardly a second passed before Nico stood before me, face to face, about a foot apart.

His eyes widened slightly, seeing me, and I smiled.

"About time, Death Boy," I said quietly, taking of my helmet and moving forward slightly. I couldn't believe I was going through with this. Jack and Drew would both get an earful later. "I was worried you wouldn't show."

Nico eyed me warily and stepped back. He had armor on but had ditched the helmet. I stepped forward to keep the distance between us the same, raising one eyebrow and looking at him sarcastically.

"What's wrong, Nico?" I whispered. His wary expression gave way to suspicion.

"What are you-" He started to ask. His voice trailed off when I took another step toward him. There was hardly any distance between us now. I looked up at him through my lashes.

"Nico," I breathed. He blinked once but didn't move. That's when he smiled. Uh-oh. He came closer, taking the step this time. Our bodies were pressed together. I felt my heart racing in my chest.

"Andi," He whispered softly, and I hated how that sent a chill down my spine. He ducked his head down so that our faces were an inch apart. He slipped his mouth past mine and let it linger by my ear. I could feel his hot breath on my neck, his face rustling my hair. I sensed rather than saw him smile. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

My eyes widened as he stepped back, pulled himself up to our flag, and seized it. It was a matter of seconds before we were on him. Taika yelled words in Ancient Greek, calling up magic from her mother. Wayne and Pollux, the other guards, brandished their swords and rushed him.

"You-you-you little-I'm going to kick your ass all the way to the Underworld, Nico!" I yelled as the shadows once again grew darker, wrapping around him. He smirked, the prick. At the last minute, I grabbed onto his scabbard, gripping the hilt of his Stygian iron sword. I felt that same freezing chill as the world was plunged into blackness. I heard a scream, my own most likely, and a pair of arms wrapped around me. I was determined not to pass out this time. I had to get our flag away from the creek, away from enemy territory.

A solid mass formed under my feet and I was flung back into Camp Half-Blood. My head was spinning, my chest tight with panic. Nico and I were standing under a mass of trees on the edge of the forest. The creek, and Athena's border guard, were visible and close.

Nico spun me around to face him and looked at me in alarm, making me even dizzier. He examined my face, trying to determine if I was okay, then removed his arms from around my waist. He frowned as I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision.

I looked at him and cursed in Ancient Greek, weird. "Aw, man, I hate that," I groaned. Then my eyes flicked to the flag. I caught it as he was pulling it behind him. I looked him in the eye and glared, still a little unsteady. With my other hand, I drew my knife.

"Bring it on, Death Boy!" I said in a low voice, tugging on the flag. He glared at me and tugged back.

"No. That would be too easy," He responded. As if to prove his point, he gently pushed me backwards into a tree trunk, snatched the flag from my grip, and dashed toward the creek. I sprinted after him, tripping over my own feet, but I knew it was too late. He splashed through the creek, the border guard whooping it up, and stopped on the other bank, holding the flag up high.

The Athena team cheered as I let my head fall back. I groaned, looking up at the sky. This was all my fault. If I wasn't such an idiot, this wouldn't have happened. It didn't help that I'd gained a migraine and my stomach was doing belly flops. In the future, I needed to remember that shadow travel was bad.

I heard the conch horn sound and closed my eyes. As the rest of my team entered the clearing, I heard swearing and groaning. I was going to get thrown in the lake tonight, no doubt.

The Athena cabin was cheering and I opened my eyes just in time to see the Nemesis flag switch to Hades. The flag was obsidian, a large skull in a lighter shade of black shimmering on it. Bones glittered and shimmered like a hologram as the flag shifted. _Creepy, _I thought. _Legit, but creepy._

"Andi!" I heard a voice call out. Jack. "What happened?"

I turned to face him and saw that half of Nemesis were behind him. Just perfect. I shook my head at him.

"Nothing," I replied, shrugging. "You and Drew's stupid plan didn't work."

Maya shoved forward and stuck her face right near mine. I jerked my head back, and made a face.

"You threw the game on purpose! You wanted us to lose!" She accused loudly. All of our side was watching.

"Hey! I did not! I tried to get the flag back!" I responded indignantly. Oh great, now the victors were paying attention.

"Oh yeah right! You probably just let him have it! We all know you hate being a child of Nemesis!" She shouted. I took another step back and cocked my head at her.

"I did not just let him have it, gods. I tried to get it back," I replied, glaring. She smirked, looking satisfied.

"But you do hate being in Nemesis, you don't deny that!" Maya said triumphantly.

"Actually, I like Nemesis cabin. I mean, come on. I've got a little brother named Wayne! Batman _is_ my favorite superhero," I said brightly. Maya's face darkened back into a glare.

"You and I both know he isn't your brother," She lowered her voice so just I can hear. "And everyone knows what you and Nico are doing. It's obvious. You aren't very good at sneaking around, whore." She spat the last word and I felt my face flushing with anger.

"I am _not_ doing anything with him," I growled, pulling my knife on her. She moved backward and drew her sword. "And I am _not_ a whore."

That's when I rushed her, my anger breaking loose. Ever since I got here, all she's done was snipe at me. Well it was payback time.

I didn't even realize, as our blades collided, that light was shining through my knife. I was too angry to dim the glow, there was no use in trying, so I let it go. Light as bright as the sun shone through my knife. I felt incredible power wash through me and I came at her with more force. Maya's face paled and she pulled back.

People were gasping and gaping as I stood there, chest heaving, while Maya kept backing away. Her sword dangled by her side, forgotten.

"You…" She breathed, then rose her voice. "You freak!" She yelled. Without thinking, I pointed my knife at her and yelled.

White light shot out of the tip of my blade-a trick that I had discovered with Nico two days earlier-and shot just past her head. She shrieked as a chunk of hair fell to the earth. I bit back a laugh. Half of her black hair was long and wavy, the other half even with her ear.

The camp stood in stunned silence and I realized what I'd just done. I sheathed the knife with shaking hands and looked up. My eyes locked with Nico's. He looked back at me, his eyes narrowed slightly with worry. I looked past him, to Chiron, and swallowed. He was looking at me gravely, as always, his horse half skittering and dancing.

With a _pop! _and the smell of fresh grapes, an irritated Mr. D appeared in front of me. There was an uncharacteristic look of unease on his face, but he quickly covered it with a glare.

"You," He said flatly, glaring at me with his purple eyes flaming. "Are coming with me."

I opened my mouth to protest, or maybe explain, when he grabbed my arm. Suddenly, I wasn't at Camp Half-Blood anymore. My entire body exploded in pain, my vision going black, and screams filling my ears. Then I was on my knees, a cold, smooth floor under me. My bare legs were chilled as I doubled over in pain, clutching my stomach. When I opened my eyes, multi-colored dots danced before me, almost obscuring my view of the marble floor beneath me.

I felt a sharp stab of pain throughout my body and started to cough. I don't mean little hem-hem kind of coughing, I mean make-your-body-shudder, coughing-up-a-lung-over-here kind of coughing. Something warm coated my mouth and I wiped my hand across it. I was just able to see a smear of bright red through the spots in my vision. I coughed again and spit blood onto the polished floor.

"She better mop that up," I heard a voice growl. I froze, coughed some more, then looked up slowly, my hair falling back from my face.

In front of me, sitting in grand thrones, sat the twelve Olympians.

**A/N: Ohhh, man. Andi sure has done it now, hasn't she? You know the gods hate it when half-bloods get blood on their throne room floor! xD**

**On a (somewhat) more serious note, I'm sorry for not updating yesterday. It snowed. Where I live, getting six inches of snow is a big deal. I've had school off this entire week, plus tomorrow and Monday. Please forgive me for going out and building snowmen(Yes, I know, _very_ mature) and not writing...at all. And I'm fairly certain the next chapter should be up tomorrow. If not, feel free to flame me all you want. **That was a joke. Flame me and I'll get sad...then I'll prolley get pissed, but mostly sad. :)**


	17. The Olympians Have No Love For Me

I really don't know what I was expecting the Olympians to look like, but this? This was not it. Directly to my right was Mr. D. Beside him sat a gorgeous woman with dark brown hair and forest green eyes. No-she was blonde with blue eyes. Her appearance kept changing, like a kaleidoscope. Next to her was a little girl, I kid you not. She was about twelve, with auburn hair and wise, sharp silvery eyes. Next to her was a black haired, grey-eyed woman. I met her stormy grey eyes and sucked in a breath, triggering another fit of coughing.

I squeezed my eyes shut, ducking my head down again, and choked back a whimper. My insides were on fire, muscles screaming, heart pumping too fast.

"Oh, for the love of Olympus," A voice sighed. "She's dying. Heal the girl, Apollo."

I heard a soft, low humming and I relaxed. The pain washed away and the coughing stopped. I felt normal, better than normal. I wiped my mouth with both hands and wiped them on my jean shorts. Then I took a deep breath and stood, looking up at the gods.

I realized that around the room, behind me and around me, there were dozens of teenagers and young adults. They were all standing, looking at me. It was, to say the least, unnerving.

The Olympians, however, were a bit more intimidating. Besides the goddesses I'd already seen, there were two that looked like they'd just spent the day picking daises. To my left, there was a middle aged man who resembled the Stoll brothers. Another god was hard to look at, his face red and covered in welts. Beside him was a _really _good looking guy in ray bans, a bottle of Sunny D in his hand. The guy sitting beside him had a rough, scarred face and was looking at me like he wanted to crush me under him thumb. That actually might have been possible considering he, along with the other gods, was twenty feet tall.

Sitting at the head of the semicircle was a man in a pin-stripped suit. He had salt and pepper hair that matched his well-trimmed beard. With the suit and the touch of grey in his hair, he looked like the ultimate business man. Well, except for the whole twenty feet tall thing. Oh yeah, he was also holding a lightning bolt bigger than me. Zeus, king of the gods, was glaring at me, as was the woman to his left. I didn't think that was a good sign.

"Sorry I'm late," A voice rang out through the room. It was followed by the sound of a roaring wave and suddenly, a man was sitting on the empty throne to Zeus's right. "I was just dealing with the _Union_. Really, you'd think that after the War the mermen would just-" The man cut off, looking around the room. He frowned when he saw me. Maybe he thought I was stupid or something, the way I was gaping at him. He was holding a trident, slouching in a throne that looked like a deep-sea fisherman's chair. The god was wearing shorts and one of those tacky Tommy Bahama shirts. He had green eyes that looked shockingly familiar. This was Percy's dad, had to be. Poseidon. Definitely _not_ what I was expecting.

"Brother?" He asked, eying me skeptically. "This is why I was called here?"

I looked at him indignantly and opened my mouth to say something, probably something rude, before I thought better of it.

"_The gods,"_ Nico had told me the other day. _"are big on respect. If you ever run into them and are disrespectful, you're in for it."_

So as much as I hated to do it, I dropped to my knee in a bow, my head ducked down. I could almost feel the tension lessening, if only by a little bit.

"Rise, demigod," A voice boomed, loud as thunder. I did as it asked grudgingly. I really wanted to snap that I had a name and that I didn't answer to _demigod_. I looked up at the speaker, Zeus, and tried not to glare. He studied me for a moment then spoke.

"Who are you?"

I bit back a laugh. "Good question," I answered. He glared at me some more.

"Do not play games with me," He warned.

"I'm not," I told him honestly. "All I know is that my name is Andromeda Smith, my dad's an alcoholic, and my mother abandoned me right after I was born. Oh, and I was also falsely claimed by Nemesis."

There was silence.

"You accuse Nemesis of falsely claiming you, simultaneously accusing a goddess of breaking the oath we took after the Titan War?" The grey-eyed woman asked, looking at me critically. Annabeth had looked at me the same way, back before I knew I was a demigod.

"Yes," I confirmed, trying to look composed. "Lady Athena, I have a reason to believe that I'm not a daughter of Nemesis."

She raised her chin, thinking. I'd hoped that reason would appeal to her. Apparently, it did.

"You will speak to the master of this place!" Zeus boomed, and I turned back to him. I ducked my head in a quick bow.

"Lord Zeus, I have proof," I half-pleaded, glad that no one from camp was here to see me in this, my darkest hour.

I held out my palm and thought of light. A tiny prick of pure white glowed in my palm. I willed it to get larger and larger, until it was the size of a basketball. I was sweating, that show of power from before had drained me.

I let the light fade and looked up at the lord of the sky. He was scowling at the wall behind me. Athena, on the other hand, was scanning the room. She turned to Zeus.

"Father," She said calmly. He waved his hand in response and she looked at me.

"When did you discover this power?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"After I got claimed," I answered. Her eyes narrowed and she looked back out into the sea of faces.

"Nemesis," Zeus called. I watched as the crowd parted, a figure walking through it. She had long black hair, black eyes, and an olive complexion. She reached Zeus throne and bowed before it. "Rise."

She rose and looked at him. "My lord," She said in that raspy voice from my dream. "Forgive me; a mistake was made."

I snorted. Mistake my ass. I realized that I had drawn attention with that little sound and let the smirk on my face drop. I swallowed and looked at my so called mother. She was looking at me blankly, no emotion. Zeus glared.

"That was a large mistake to make Nemesis," He remarked. Nemesis shifted nervously and I had to hold back a smile.

"I'm sorry," Nemesis repeated quietly.

"My lord," The goddess to Zeus's left said softly. Her voice was…familiar. I was sure I'd heard it before, but I didn't know where. "It was a mistake anyone could make."

What a load of crap.

Zeus shifted, still scowling, and said to Nemesis, "Very well, but don't let it happen again."

Nemesis bowed deeply. "Thank you Lord Zeus, Lady Hera."

Hera. I remembered Annabeth's face when she had mentioned the queen of the gods. Obviously, Annabeth had no love for the goddess.

Nemesis melted back into the crowd of minor gods and Zeus stood. I had to step back and turn my face upward to see all of him.

"Who's child stands before the Olympian Council? Did you all not swear on the River Styx to claim your children? Which goddess has broken this oath?" He boomed, scowling into the crowd of minor gods. He looked hard at the goddesses sitting in thrones as well, skipping over Hera.

A murmur passed through the room until a smoking hot guy, about twenty, came forward. His skin was pale, his hair shaggy and a white-blond color. His eyes seemed to shimmer with light. He stepped beside me, melting down to the size of an average human, and bowed his head for a moment.

"Lord Zeus," He said softly, looking at the lord of the sky evenly. "I don't claim this child, but I do claim her father."

My eyebrows shot straight up, my mouth falling open. "What?" I croaked, forgetting about where I was for a moment. Zeus's eyes tightened.

"Explain, Aither," Zeus commanded, sitting down on his throne again.

Aither, Aither, Aither. I tried to think back to who this guy was, but being a minor god and all, I had no clue.

"I have a child that was born years ago. He was never claimed, but he did make it to Camp Half-Blood. He hasn't been a target for monsters, seeing as he's not nearly as powerful as this girl. His surname is Smith. Last time I visited my son…he had a girl, an infant. I feel that this girl is his, though I never knew the mother," The man explained. My mouth was hanging open stupidly. My father…was a…demigod? So there was a reason he slept with a gun in his hand. I'd always wondered why the bullets were bronze…Now I knew.

"He possessed the ability to create light," Aither, Granddad, whatever, added as an afterthought. "But he didn't have the power to do more than make his hands glow. This girl…" He let the thought hang in the air.

Athena broke the silence. "Father." Again Zeus waved his hand, signaling that she had the floor.

"It makes since as to why this child is powerful. If she does indeed have a demigod father and a goddess for a mother…it explains why she has such power. She is not half-human, half-god…she is more god than mortal."

This was...insane. I was just a poor kid from Manhattan, not an ultra-powerful demigod...

Zeus had a thoughtful scowl on his face, he _always_ had a scowl on his face.

"That's all very well," Hera replied, an irritated look on her face. "But it still does not answer the question of who her mother is."

I looked hard at her face, a bad feeling deep down in my gut. I gripped the hilt of my temporarily forgotten knife. When I drew it from its sheath, I watched Hera's face closely. Her eyes narrowed slightly, looking at it and the feeling grew worse.

"You know," I said loudly, keeping my eyes on Hera. "I had one of those freaky demigod dreams the other night. The weird thing," I paused, meeting Hera's eyes. She glared at me and I knew that Hera had been the women in the dream. "is that I heard how Nemesis had been told to falsely claim me. The person who ordered Nemesis to do it? Well let's just say that Nemesis couldn't have declined. That someone was talking to me. She said that she'd had this nifty little diamond knife made for me. She warned me, this dream woman, that if I failed her, she'd get rid of me.

"Now the question I have, gods and goddesses, is what did she mean?" I paused dramatically, letting the affect build. To Hades with respect; if they wanted me to respect them, they had to earn it. "I mean, gods! She could at least tell me what I was supposed to succeed in doing. And the way Nemesis spoke to this chick? You would think that this mystery lady was a _queen_."

I glared at Hera and she glared back, her form starting to glow.

"You insolent child. You dare accuse me?" She sneered. Oh yes, this was the dream woman.

"Yes, I sure as _hell_ dare to accuse you! Where do you even get the right to threaten me?" I yelled, my voice echoing around the throne room. There was a stunned silence, electricity crackling in the air. Hera stood up, her form glowing even brighter. Her lip curled up at me and there was a flash of light as Hera revealed her true form. I knew from Camp that you were supposed to avert your eyes, that a god's true form could burn you to ashes. And yet, there I stood, alive and well, as the glow faded.

I shifted my weight onto one foot, crossed my arms, and cocked my head. The gods looked stunned. Hera looked even more surprised than the rest. Her deep blue eyes narrowed, a death look on her face. I froze. That was a look I knew well, one I had practiced in the mirror.

Everything, _everything_, clicked. Why she chose me. Why she told another goddess to claim me. Why she had tried, in a last ditch effort to keep her dirty little secret, to kill me. Why she hated me.

"You…" I laughed in disbelief. "You are the _biggest_ hypocrite I have ever seen."

Her face grew red and she opened her mouth to respond. I didn't let her.

"Marriage and mother goddess my _ass! _You threw your son off of Olympus! You cheated on the god of static over there! You tried to kill me to keep your reputation from shattering to bits! You-"

But I never got to finish. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and suddenly I tasted metal. I fell to the floor of the throne room, my back arching from the electricity running through my body. My nose was filled with the smell of burning demigod as the world faded to black.

A rhythmic _thump, thump, thump_. Then all was quiet.

**A/N: This chapter did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I think it's disorganized, messy, and completely_ weird_. For the love of the gods, I'm going to have to fix this. Why did I put this up if I think it's that bad? It's olympian1999's birthday! Happy birthday! **

**So, you know, this chapter will probably be changed slightly in the future. **

**Oh...right. Are you shocked right now? Bet you didn't see that one coming...**


	18. Waking Up

**A/N: Woah. An A/N at the beginning? What is this madness? (MADNESS? This is Sparta!) *Giggles* If you didn't get that reference, shame on you. Google. Now.**

** Nah, but in all seriousness, I wanted to let you guys know how much I love you all. From the reviewers to the story alerters, the story favers, and the author alerters, y'all rock. Everytime I see an email from FanFiction and it's a review or whatnot, I get this huge grin on my face. I love you guys-keep reviewing, and I'll keep loving. ;D**

Sleeping was easy. You could escape the real world and be anything you wanted to be. You could pretend that you weren't a demigod. You could pretend you had a mother and father and a brother. You could pretend that you had a normal life with a nice house and nice friends. It was waking up that was hard. It was so hard, in fact, that I preferred not to wake up at all. Somewhere, nagging in the back of my head, was my conscious mind, telling me to wake up and smell the roses. I didn't listen to it though. In those moments of lucidity, I just lulled myself back to sleep.

Sleeping dulled the pain, sometimes blocking it out entirely. When I was sleeping I couldn't feel the rawness of my skin, or the aching muscles, or the seemingly fried interior of my body. Sleeping was like a drug, and I was addicted.

A few times I came close to surfacing for good. The first time everything hurt, my body screaming in pain. I heard a anxious voice calling my name.

"Andi! Andi, please, please wake up!" It called, then lowered to a whisper. "Andi, please. We miss you. Jack and Wayne and me…and even though he won't admit it, Nico does too. Andi…" The voice broke slightly. "Please don't die on us."

I had opened my eyes slightly, looking up at the speaker through my lashes. A sad looking girl with brown hair. It was pulled loosely back in a ponytail. Her skin was tanned and her eyes were brown. I connected the face with a name, Taika, and memories. Her laughing on the climbing wall(I had nearly fallen off the top when it had clashed with the other one). Her glaring at me when I'd purposely tipped our canoe over.

"Andi!" She yelled now, grinning. "Chiron! CHIRON!"

I closed my eyes and her voice faded, now pleading with me to stay awake. I didn't though. Not even a friend was worth the harsh pain, not even a good friend.

Another time, I don't know how much later, a short, heavyset kid with toothpick arms had popped into a dream of mine. He stood in front of me, stifling a yawn. I didn't even try to remember him. If I tried too hard, I would wake myself up.

"Andi," He yawned. "You need to…wake up and…yeah, wake up."

I didn't say anything, not comprehending what he meant. Dreams were strange that way. When you were living in them like me, you seemed to think that insane things were logical and rational things were insane. It was completely messed up.

I remember hardly stirring as other voices came to me, drifting into the fog of sleep. The voices broke through the surface of the dreamland I was in, calling to me, but I just didn't want to answer.

I finally woke up, to an insane amount of pain, when a certain voice called to me.

"C'mon Andi," It whispered, the soft sound seeming loud to me. "You said that I'd never get rid of you, remember? What happened to that Andi?"

I felt something brush my hand, my raw, burning skin cool wherever the other hand touched mine. My fingers curled around the hand automatically and I held it in mine.

"Andi," The voice said a little louder, right in my ear. "You've gotta see Maya's hair. It's ridiculous. And what about kicking my ass down to the Underworld? Shouldn't you follow through with that threat?"

I felt myself snapping back to the real world, nearing the surface of the dream one. I felt the pain, but I welcomed it. However crazy it sounds, the pain helped me wake up, helped me get back to reality. I wanted, so badly, to wake up now. My breath caught, a spasm of pain running through me, and my eyes opened slightly.

"Andi?" That voice, low and rich, asked. I opened my eyes a little more, taking in the face that hovered over mine. An olive toned complexion, dark brown eyes, and a smirk playing on his lips. Slightly curly black hair surrounded his face, shaggy but not too long. Just right.

I tried for a smile and winced. "As soon as I can move, Death Boy, your ass is going down. _Way_ down."

The grin that broke across his face was bright. I found myself smiling through the pain as he bent his face closer to mine. His lips were cool as they pressed against my forehead and I closed my eyes. But I wasn't going to sleep this time, no way. I was staying wide awake.

**A/N: Just so you know, that first author's note was not meant to butter you guys up so you wouldn't notice the SHORTNESS and IN BETWEENNESS of this chapter. Gods, I'm sorry. I have the next chapter typed and proof-read but it just wouldn't transition into the end of this one(despite my best efforts...) Anyway, I've had an _epiphany_. Like, ohmigods. You know-or maybe you don't-how much Nico's OOCness bugs me. I could spend the time to make him in-character, but if I did that, I'd also have to switch up my story. So today, while I was watching the PJO movie(and becoming _very_ annoyed, _very_ quickly), I had a sudden thought. I dunno about you, but I am a completely different person now than I was when I was twelve. I don't think, talk, dress, or act like I did then. As you probably don't know, Nico is about a month from turning fifteen in my story. He was twelve at the end of TLO. Well, hello, it stands to reason that he would have changed, at least a little bit, over nearly three years, amirite? (Gods, I'm rambling AND making a lot of references tonight. By the way, Google amirite if you don't understand what that's supposed to say. You'll get it...eventually.) :]**

**A/N/N: I swear to Olympus, if someone reviews "tl;dr" according to the A/N, my head will explode. I'll kill off Andi too! Actually, no, I really won't, but still!**


	19. Apollo and His Moods

"I'm sorry, come again?" Jack Hanson asked, staring at me in disbelief.

"Seriously Jack? I've already told you the story, every last detail. _Twice_," I responded, rolling my eyes. I was sitting at the ping-pong table, right in the center, fiddling with the net. Around the table sat most of the other head counselors. And yes, now I was a head counselor. I was in charge of only one, myself, as head of cabin two. Hera's cabin. It was miserable.

See, it was a day after Nico had woken me up and Chiron wanted to hear the entire story from the source, however unbelievable it might be.

And, really, it seemed as though the other counselors were having a pretty tough time believing it.

"I have no love for Hera," Annabeth said with a skeptical look. "But I don't think she'd do something like this. I mean, Zeus is the one that has demigod children. This goes completely against Hera's nature."

"Yeah, and your dad is a demigod?" Jack added. "I mean, from what you've said…well, he doesn't necessarily seem like a, uh, stand up guy."

I scowled at the table, my arms crossed over my chest. "Well, I think he's a crap excuse for a half-blood, but ask Chiron."

We all looked at him. "I don't know why I didn't see it," He sighed. "He was unclaimed, yes, but I did know of his ability to generate some light. I just…didn't think of a half-blood having a child, especially with a goddess."

I scowled some more. "Especially with the hypocritical goddess of 'marriage' and 'motherhood,'" I grumbled, clenching my fists. "What a loud of bullsh-"

"Andromeda," Chiron warned, looking up at the ceiling. I heard a distant boom of thunder and flinched, remembering how it had felt to be struck by lightning. I didn't even have the urge to get onto him about calling me _Andromeda_.

"Well," Annabeth said uncertainly. "I guess it makes sense. Aither is the first elemental god, the god of light. His power would be diluted by the human blood in his son, but then you take Hera's power…She _is_ one of Kronos' six children, one of the eldest gods. It's possible that her power in Andi multiplied the power of Aither that was passed down from her father."

It took everyone a second to process this, but it did make sense.

"Gods, this sucks," I groaned suddenly, standing up gingerly. "I mean, I just wanted to be normal. I'm not even a normal half-blood. I'm not even a half-blood at all! I'm a-a-a _three-quarters_-blood. That just sounds awful!"

"Well," Taika spoke up. "There's no use complaining. I say, since your this all powerful, almost-but-not-quite god, that you use what you have and start kicking some ass. Hera did say you'd have monsters to face, right? Well if you're gonna get a quest in the somewhat near future, you might want to suck it up and be prepared."

Everyone in the room stared at her, some gaping. Who was this girl and what has she done with the happy-go-lucky, always-looking-on-the-bright-side Taika?

"I think she's got a point," Nico shrugged from the dark corner of the room. Travis Stoll jumped, not realizing that Nico had been behind him.

I rolled my eyes, though my heart did do an embarrassing little flutter when I saw him. Gods, when had he even gotten here? I remembered back to the previous night and felt myself flushing. Oh gods, he was just Nico…wasn't he?

"So it's decided," Chiron said firmly. "Andi will move into her rightful cabin, train, and wait for the day of her quest to come."

"Oh, goody," I muttered under my breath. "Now I'll have a constant reminder of how much Mommy Dearest hates me."

Taika shot me a look, and I again wondered what had brought about this sudden change in her.

"Well," Chiron said slowly, noticing Taika's strange behavior as well. "I suppose this council meeting is concluded."

A few counselors nodded, others rose quickly and ducked out of the room. A few lingered though: Nico, Jack, Annabeth, and-by default, because of Annabeth-Percy.

Jack looked at me with a strained smile. "You can still, you know, train with our cabin," He offered. "If you want to anyway."

I smiled back at him. "Alright, thanks Jack. Maybe I'll take you up on that."

He left the room, followed by Annabeth, who gave me a long, hard look. I knew those looks, like I was a code that she desperately wanted to crack.

Percy shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at me while he backed out of the room. "It'll get better," He assured me. "It's hard at first, being alone, but it'll get better."

I didn't even try to smile as he left the room. I sank back down into the chair and rested my forehead on the ping-pong table. I didn't exactly believe it'd get better for me. Here I was-a total accident, evidence that my mother was unfaithful, the cause for a scandal-and all I could think of was my father. He never even told me, he never even _told_ me. He had this baby girl, daughter of Hera, granddaughter of Aither, and he decided to let her be, ignore her. I wondered if he knew I was here. I wondered what Hera had ever seen in him in the first place. Could he have, once upon a time, been an actual, honest-to-Olympus, stand up guy? I doubted it, couldn't picture it. And yet, here I was.

"Hey," I heard a voice say. I flinched, lifting my head to look at Nico, the source of the noise.

"Hey," I replied, then paused. "Nico?" I asked after a long minute.

"Yeah?" He asked back.

"What in Hades is happening?"

He looked as though I'd caught him off-guard with the question. Then he looked at me hard, straight on, right in the eye.

"I dunno," He told me simply, sitting down in the chair next to me. "But I guess we'll find out, huh?"

I laughed at this. Why, I don't know, but I found it hysterical. He looked at me like I'd gone a little funny in the head.

"What?" He asked indignantly.

"Nothing," I responded, still giggling slightly. He raised an eyebrow at me. When I stopped laughing, I looked at him like he'd looked at me, head on. "I'm just not sure," I said carefully. "that I want to find out…what's happening I mean. If it's this crappy and confusing now, why go looking for answers that'll just make things more crappy and confusing?"

He shrugged. "'Cause we've got to. It's, uh, kind of the specialty of demigods. We have to make life more difficult than it needs to be. It's, ah, in our blood."

I cracked a grin at this. "Of course it is. It's always the parents fault, huh?"

He smiled slightly at this, leaning closer to me. "Yeah, I guess so."

**ooo**

"Hey," A voice called from behind me. I was in the Arena, it was just after lunch, and I was setting up some practice dummies. I turned to look at whoever had spoken and squinted. The sun was bright today, hot and brutal, pounding down on me and making me sweat. I shielded my eyes with my hand and made out the figure.

"Hey yourself," I replied, turning back to the practice dummy and straightening it's armor. Nico walked up beside me and helped.

"What's up?" He asked, squinting at me. "Other than Apollo's mood, anyway."

I grinned. "Other than the sun god's extreme happiness or anger? Nothing much," I replied. "But I wouldn't say no if someone offered to be my sparring partner."

Nico shook his head. "Very subtle."

"That's just the kind of person I am," I said easily, stepping back, hands on hips, to admire my dummies. The fourth one out of five was a little crooked, but it was good enough.

"So," Nico said, turning and walking away toward the Equipment Shed. He came back out with two sets of armor, one smaller than the other. He handed the smaller set to me. "Do I have to go easy on you?"

"Excuse me?" I said in disbelief as I armored up. "Go _easy _on me? Are you _kidding?_"

Nico rolled his eyes, exasperated, while he strapped his own armor on. "Andi, seriously, think for a second. You were zapped by Zeus eight days ago."

"So? What's your point?" I replied.

"You're just lucky he didn't have his master bolt," Nico told me, gripping the hilt of his sword. "And that the lightning you ate wasn't very big or charged."

I frowned, remembering the smell of charred Andi and the metallic taste that came with it. My skin and insides were less raw and burnt now than they had been, almost healed, thanks to Apollo cabin and a fair amount of Ambrosia. They had given me more of the stuff than they ever would have dared, all because I was three-fourths a god. But the food of the gods did the trick, and now I was ready to start sparring again.

"Fine," I caved. "Maybe I'm not one-hundred percent, but I'm not letting you go easy on me."

"Andi-" He argued, but I cut him off by rushing him, my knife drawn and lit. He rolled his eyes but drew his sword, the Stygian iron glinting darkly.

Our blades collided, his catching mine as I struck. I stepped back and to the side, parrying his strike and lunging.

_Get in close_, Annabeth and Drake had drilled into my head. _You've got to get in uncomfortably close._

We jabbed, parried, stuck, and deflected for what seemed like forever. The glow faded from my knife, my reaction time slowing, as we continued to spar. Nico had a whole lot more experience-and stamina-than I did, and it showed. He struck and I caught the blow on my hilt, almost getting sliced in the process. He twisted his blade in a way that left me no choice but to drop my knife. Suddenly, I felt the cool Stygian iron of his blade touch my throat.

I froze, breathing hard and looked up at him. His chest was rising and falling too, sweat beading on his face. I was suddenly aware of how close we were, nearly touching, when he slid hid sword away from me. He smiled slightly as he slid the blade into his scabbard.

Despite myself, I smiled back, shifting my weight closer to him. There was no one else in the Arena. Distantly I heard laughter and the clangs of weapons on weapons, but for all intensive purposes, we were alone.

Nico brushed a stray strand of hair back from my face and let his hand rest on my cheek, his fingers intertwined in my hair. I tipped my face back slightly and closed my eyes as he leaned in.

When he kissed me I shuddered-not because I was cold, but in pleasure. My muscles relaxed as I kissed him back, my arms reaching up to lock around his neck. Despite the coolness of the rest of his body, his lips were warm against mine. I could have stayed there forever, with Nico, but then I heard the squeal.

"Ohmigods!" A high pitched voice screeched, followed by an explosion of giggles. I jerked back, stumbling over my knife lying on the ground, but caught myself. Nico whirled around and stared in horror at the cluster of Aphrodite girls at the top of the structure.

"Pay up Jessie!" Drew, the head counselor of Aphrodite, shrieked. She was grinning ear to ear. "You too Lacy, hon!"

I felt my face grow hot and red. I didn't know if it was from embarrassment or anger, maybe it was a combination of the two. Either way, I scooped up my dagger and stormed toward them, surprised to feel Nico take my arm and hold me back. I looked up at him, eyebrows raised, but he was scowling at the Aphrodite girls. So maybe he wanted to teach them to mind their own business too.

"Aw! They are _so cute!_" That weird girl with the crazy eyes, Melanie, squealed. I started forward again, taking the stone steps two at a time, when Mrs. O'Leary thundered up behind them. She barked and licked Drew with a tongue the size of a surfboard. The girl screamed, yelling at the hellhound to back off. The other campers backed up quickly, tripping over themselves, and I found _myself _retreating a step, but Mrs. O'Leary just _woofed_ happily.

"Stupid MUTT!" Drew screamed, storming off, the rest of her cabin following tentatively.

Percy appeared at the top of the Arena, grinning widely. I grinned back.

"Did you tell her to do that?" I laughed, my anger evaporating. Percy shook his head

"I wish I had though," He replied, laughing and patting Mrs. O'Leary on the leg. _Woof!_

Nico came up behind me, grinning, and stopped, his shoulder pressing against mine. I was about to take his hand when Mrs. O'Leary growled, her fur standing straight up. The sky darkened suddenly, the sun dimming considerably, and everything froze. The birds stopped chirping, the breeze stopped blowing, kids stopped laughing. I held my breath as a chill took over the camp, thunder rumbling. It was like a huge, dark cloud had just passed over the sun, only the sun was clearly unblocked.

I looked at Nico who was looking hard at the sun, then at Percy. He was looking at the sun too, a worried look on his face. I got a bad, _bad_ feeling in the pit of my stomach as thunder boomed, shaking the ground and making me flinch. If Percy, camp leader and hero, looked that worried-almost_ scared_-something very bad had to be going on.

Something was wrong with Apollo, I could feel it. And Zeus was pissed.

**A/N: Oh shi-at!**

** Look down. There's a blue phrase: Review this story. It's underlined. It has a speech bubble next to it. Click it. Please?**


	20. The Future Fortold?

The thing about demigod dreams is that they happen at the worst times. For example, you could be having this really great dream. In it, you and a, um, certain person could be, um, having a great time. You could be completely content, in that nice little dream, and then you get poofed into a whole new setting. It's annoying. It's even more annoying when you're poofed into a place you'd rather not be.

The place was just blackness; no sound, no vision. I was floating there, in the darkness, and starting to panic. I tried to make my hands glow but they wouldn't. I was stuck in the dark, breathing hard, and my light just wouldn't work.

Just when I started to think I'd never wake up, my lungs sealing themselves, I was poofed into another setting. At first, I was disoriented. My feet hit solid ground and I stumbled, blinking hard. The sun was hot and bright, beating down on me, making me squint. My stomach dropped. The sun did not look like that anymore, not since this afternoon in the Arena.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to think of the reaction of the camp. The panic had started about a minute and a half after the sun had dimmed. Some of the younger kids had started to cry. Others froze completely, just standing there in shock, not reacting to anything or anyone. The Apollo cabin's reaction was the worst. It was written all over their faces, the worry and the fear. Will Solace, head counselor of Apollo, had looked shell-shocked, staring up into the sky as if by sheer will he could crank the sun back up.

I was brought back to the present by laughter and looked up quickly. I took in my surroundings: a big, brick building with huge windows looking out onto the lawn where I was standing. From the looks inside the building, I'd say it was a private school cafeteria. The green I was standing on was well manicured, picnic tables spread out. The place was nice, very nice, except for the name of it. Clarion Ladies Academy. An all girls school. Can you say torture?

Anyway, the two girls walking toward me were in Clarion uniforms. They each had on a white collared shirt with the letters CLA embroidered on the pocket, a high waisted, dark blue skirt, and were carrying textbooks. The girl on the left had blonde hair pulled high in a pony tail and blue eyes. She looked completely normal, had to be a mortal, but the girl on the left looked…different.

For one, her hair was bright red, a little frizzy, and had some curl to it. Her eyes were bright green, lighter than Percy's, but they still stood out. She had marker on her tights and her shoes were splatter painted converse. There was something weird about her too, something mysterious, something almost…ancient. But that was crazy, wasn't it?

The weird girl stopped suddenly, her head whipping towards the sun. Her eyes widened as it dimmed, just as suddenly as it had at camp. The temperature dropped about ten degrees right then and everything was silent. The girl's mouth fell open, her blonde friend staring at the sky, eyes widened in fear. Even the mortals new that something was wrong. Then the redhead did something that shocked me.

_Apollo_, She mouthed, her eyes wide and fixated on the sun. I started forward-what did she know about Apollo?-when her eyes rolled back in her head and she dropped like a stone. Her blonde friend screamed but caught her before she hit the ground.

"Rachel?" She asked, shaking the redhead. "Rachel?" She yelled. But Rachel's eyes just closed, a hissing sound coming from her mouth. The blonde girl screamed again.

Rachel's eyes snapped open suddenly, glowing neon green, and a voice came from her open mouth. It was raspy and sounded like two voices blended together. When she spoke, my stomach knotted.

"_A demigod born of unique descent,_

_Great courage and defiance she will present._

_With power to rival even the eldest of gods,_

_She will gain their respect against all odds._

_The enemy arises, a target in sight._

_Light shall shine through even the darkest of nights._

_If light shall fail and darkness reigns, _

_The gods will be facing their end of days."_

I froze, something stirring inside of me.

"Rachel!" The blonde screamed again, shaking the redhead. And just like that, I was awake.

**A/N: I'm aware how short this is, but, hello, The Prophecy. Feel free to interpret it however you want, the next chapter will *not* explain a single thing! ;D**

**(But hopefully it'll be up soon?)**


	21. Oh Goody, I Get My Very Own Prophecy

My eyes snapped open, my chest heaving. I shivered violently; the Hera cabin was freezing cold. What just happened? I sat up on my blow up mattress and pressed my hands to my eyes, hard. I opened them quickly though. The glowing green eyes of the girl named Rachel had come back to me, as if the image was tattooed on my eyelids. I was pretty sure that she was the camp Oracle. Taika had told me about the Oracle once, but she had never mentioned names.

I looked at the back of a huge, golden throne that stood in the center of the cabin and grimaced. I had put the mattress directly behind the statue so _she_ couldn't look at me. It wasn't that the woman on the throne was ugly, she was gorgeous, but I had my reasons to hate the thing. One, the woman was my mother who hated my very existence. Two, she had this look on her face. It was kind of like a 'mother knows best' look but had an threat to it too. Like she was saying, "If you defy mother she'll squash you like a bug and hand you over to Hades without a second thought." I'd seen that look before and it had nearly gotten me fried like bacon. The incredibly detailed paint job didn't help either. The statue nearly looked alive, her eyes seemed to follow you around. Basically, I hated this cabin-which had no furnishings whatsoever-and spent every minute I could far, far away from it.

A low sound broke me out of my thoughts, and I cocked my head, trying to hear better. It was the sound of voices, not individual ones but that low hum of a bunch of people all talking at once. I frowned, wondering what time it was. The cabin, of course, was dark and had no windows, so I couldn't judge the time by a light source. With the sun the way it was, my guess probably wouldn't have been accurate anyway.

I rose, swapping my sweatpants and tank top for a orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and jean shorts. The buzzing of voices was growing louder, as if more people were joining the crowd. I frowned again, strapping my sheath to my belt and sliding my knife into it. About two minutes had passed since I'd woken up and already it sounded like people were shouting.

I skirted around the statue, being careful to avoid looking at it, and pushed on the big, bronze double-doors of the cabin. Everything went silent as the doors swung open and every eye was on me. I blinked, shocked, and took in the sight before me. It looked like every last camper was standing in the green that the twelve main cabins surrounded. Some were wearing pajamas, other full clothes. Some had armor and weapons, others had a weird mix of a little bit of everything. I took in the chaos of it all. You could see how siblings were all spread out, everyone in a mass.

The unsettling thing, however, was how they were all looking at me. Some glared accusingly, others looked at me in awe. There were kids who looked at me in envy or excitement, and still others who looked scared and confused.

"'_A demigod born of unique descent!_'" Someone yelled. "It's _her!_ The prophecy is about _her!_"

I blinked again. How on Olympus did they know the prophecy? They couldn't have all had the same dream that I'd had…

"Yeah!" Another camper yelled. "That bit about light? That's got to do with her!"

"Don't forget the one line: '_Great courage and _defiance_ she will present_,'" Yet another demigod shouted, a smirk in their voice. There were snickers throughout the crowd. Yeah, I guess everyone knew about my tantrum on Olympus by now. Gods, this was embarrassing.

"Guys, guys, forget about the prophecy. What about Rachel? The mortals won't know what to do with her and what happened. That blonde mortal could tell them everything!" A girl's voice shouted. I saw some people frown, murmurs breaking out.

"Okay everybody, calm down," A voice called out, the speaker standing on a bench so that he could be seen. "The Oracle will be fine," Percy reassured the camp. "Chiron will send someone to go make sure she's okay. Go back to sleep."

He hopped down off the bench and everyone just stood there. Grumbling broke out, but the campers started to make their ways back to their cabin.

The moon, however dim it was, was still in the sky. I looked at it for a long minute, thinking back to what they said. '_A demigod born of unique descent._' Of course they'd assume it was me.

I sat down heavily on the front step of the cabin, which looked more like a mausoleum, and sighed. It was like no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't be normal. I couldn't be a normal girl, I couldn't be a normal demigod either. And now I was apparently the demigod in the prophecy. It made sense now, the dream where Hera had told me to train. She knew that I'd be handed a quest and she knew it'd be soon. She just hadn't known that her secret would be put on display for all of Olympus. She hadn't known that I'd be such a pain in the ass.

I glared at my feet, a familiar angry feeling welling up inside of me, and took out my knife. There were times that I wanted to scream at that stupid statue inside the cabin. I wanted to blast it to pieces with my light or, sometimes, I wanted to hurl my knife into the Sound. It may seem crazy, to want to get rid of something like that, but it was from my mother and I didn't want anything from her. I didn't want to owe her anything. If she gave me a knife, then I'd have to find a way to repay her for it. I did not want that.

But before I would act on my impulses, the dream would come back to me. "_Ready yourself before this dream becomes reality. Train hard, embrace your abilities, and fight bravely against your enemies_," Hera had told me. That always stopped me. If there really were enemies that were going to come after me, I'd need a weapon.

Then there was the feeling that made me even angrier. I actually wanted to _please_ my mother. I didn't want to let her down, even after she'd let me down in the biggest way possible. It was stupid to want her approval and to want her to be proud of me, but I couldn't help it.

I gripped my knife, raised it, then hurled it at the grass in front of me. It sank about six inches into the ground. I heard a long whistle and looked up. Nico was looking at the knife, his eyebrows raised. I scowled and he bent down to jerk it from the ground.

"Nice throw," He commented, sitting down beside me and handing the blade over. I took it and ran my finger over it, brushing the dirt from the surface.

"Thanks," I muttered, turning the knife over and cleaning the other side.

"They might be wrong. This prophecy might not even happen while we're alive," He told me, looking out toward the basketball court. I snorted.

"You don't believe that," I said sourly. "Hera said I'd have to face enemies. And a demigod born of unique descent? You really can't get more unique than me."

He looked at me. "Fine, it's you."

I looked at him. "Ah, that makes me feel super!"

He made a face at my sarcastic tone. "The prophecy also said that the demigod would have power to rival the eldest gods."

I frowned. "Maybe it isn't me…"

"It's you."

"Zeus almost killed me. Yeah, I can 'rival his power,'" I said sarcastically.

"I really can't stand you sometimes," Nico grumbled. I felt my bad mood slipping-I just can't help but lighten up around him.

"Aw, you like me, Death Boy. Don't even try to deny it," I grinned, scooting closer to him and bumping my shoulder against his. He looked down at me with a small smile and I closed the distance between us. Again the world seemed to fall away, just me and him in the semi-darkness, together. But, of course, the moment always has to get ruined. Last time by Aphrodite girls, this time by Chiron.

He cleared his throat pointedly and I froze, pulled back from Nico, and blushed. It was one thing to be, er, interrupted by other campers, but by Chiron? It was somewhat mortifying.

"Uh," I tried to explain. "We were just-"

"Andromeda," He cut me off. "Please, spare all three of us from further embarrassment. If you'd please come with me, both of you."

I swallowed and stood up, following Chiron as he headed toward the Big House. No doubt I was in for another council meeting about the prophecy. We walked in silence, Nico beside me and Chiron in front. Inside the Big House, everything was silent, save for Seymour's snores. At least someone could still sleep.

There wasn't anyone in the Rec. Room when we walked in and took our seats. I sat where I had last time, right near the net, and Nico sat down beside me, our shoulders touching. I don't know why, but I felt ten times better with him there. Suddenly the prophecy didn't seem so bad, like I actually had some control over the situation. I was in the middle of asking Nico if he wanted to play ping-pong when the other counselors started showing up. First Miranda Gardner-from Demeter-followed by the Stoll brothers, Jack, Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse from Ares, and Jake Mason, Hephaestus. They kept trickling in, Taika sitting down on my other side until, finally, all the counselors were present.

There was silence for a moment, then Clovis, a chubby blonde kid from Hypnos, spoke up.

"I've never heard of two-hundred plus demigods having the same dream at the same time," He said drowsily, his head nodding.

"So everyone did have the dream with the Oracle?" I asked.

"All of Nemesis did," Jack replied and the other counselors nodded.

"What I'd like to know," Jake Mason spoke up. "is what that prophecy was about. '_The enemy arises, a target in sight_,' doesn't sound all that great."

A few counselors made faces, others looked down at the table.

"We just got rid of our _last_ enemy," Tamara Brown, daughter of Nike, grumbled. I raised my eyebrows, wondering of they were referring to the Titan War. I'd heard about it, knew that it'd happened nearly two summers ago, in August, but no one had given me specifics. What I knew was that some of the Titans, the high-and-mighties before the gods, had made a comeback and thanks to the great hero, Percy Jackson, the world had been saved. Apparently, the campers were over the whole enemy arising thing. I couldn't really blame them.

"Well, it isn't like we can just ignore the enemy," Clarisse, a big mean girl with stringy hair who I tried to avoid, said a little too enthusiastically. She was a perfect example of a daughter of Ares, always looking for a fight. "They'll rise whether we want them to or not, so we might as well get ready."

"Jeeze, Clarisse, calm down," Conner Stoll grumbled.

"This prophecy might not even be happening right now," Miranda Gardner said half-heartedly, not believing it anymore than the rest of us.

"'_A demigod born of unique descent,_'" I recited, then skipped ahead. "'_Light shall shine through even the darkest of nights_.' Miranda, unless there's some other illegitimate child of a god somewhere who can shoot light out of their hands, I think the demigod's me. And since it's me, how much d'you wanna bet the prophecy will unfold sometime in the near future?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Just because you're here and the prophecy has been revealed doesn't mean it will come to pass anytime soon. The Great Prophecy that had to do with Percy didn't happen until four years after he first came to camp."

"Annabeth," Percy argued. "That prophecy was different. Me or Thalia or Nico would've had to turn sixteen for it to happen. There was nothing about a certain age in this one."

Annabeth looked at him hard then sighed. "For once, Seaweed Brain, I think you're right."

"So what happens now?" I asked in a smaller voice, leaning on Nico. I saw some eyebrows go up around the table but ignored them. Chiron opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the door swinging open.

Rachel, the Oracle, the girl who had spouted the prophecy, stood in the doorway, looking disheveled. She walked into the room, her Clarion's uniform crumpled and a black shawl over her shoulders, followed by Will Solace and Butch from the Iris cabin.

Her green eyes taking in the room, stopping on me. She locked eyes with me and frowned.

"You," She told me. "are the one who will find Apollo."

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE. School. Is. Murder. But anyways, here you are. I'm sorry if this is a bit boring, but it had to be written. AND, you know, in what? Three chapters? The action shall start! Thanks for bearing with me you guys, I love all of you! R&R? Call it a birthday present? Considering my birthday is the TWENTY-SEVENTH! **

**A/N/N: And if this has any spelling/grammar issues, tell me, I'll fix it ASAP!**


	22. The Oracle Knows the Zodiac

Everyone stared at her.

"So Dad didn't leave on his own then?" Will Solace asked from behind her. She kept her eyes on me as she answered him.

"Of course not. He was taken."

We all knew that he'd been kidnapped, taken, lured away-something like that-but said out loud, it just seemed a lot more real.

"And I'm supposed to find him?" I asked. "Where the heck would I start? I'm not a bloodhound."

"It wouldn't be much of a quest if you knew exactly what to do and how to do it," Clarisse commented. I glared at her, figuring a poke with her electric spear was worth it.

"I wouldn't really care if it was much of a quest," I replied dryly. "I'd still rather know what to do."

Taika rolled her eyes beside me and I shot her a look too.

"Hey, it'll work out," Percy intervened. "Half the time I never knew what I was doing and things turned out pretty okay in the end."

Annabeth snorted. "Half the time? If it wasn't for your friends, you wouldn't be here."

"Exactly," Percy agreed, accepting that he'd be dead many times over without his friends. "It's not like Andi will be alone, she'll have two other people with her on the quest."

"What quest?" I asked loudly. "I haven't been given a quest!"

The room just looked at me.

"Guys, I don't even know where to start! What am I going to do, just wonder aimlessly until I get a lead? What kind of strategy is that? I'll get everyone with me killed," I continued, just a little bit hysterical. "I mean, I don't have a-"

"Enough," Chiron cut me off sternly. I looked at him and he ignored me-he seemed to do that a lot with me. Not everyone else, but just me-addressing the room at large. "There is no doubt that Andi will be given a quest, but we do indeed need more information than what we have. Sending a group out blind will accomplish nothing. Until then, you should all get back to your cabins. Breakfast will be soon."

I looked out the window, startled to see the sun had started to rise, even if it was sickeningly dim. Chiron was right, breakfast would start soon. We rose one by one, walking out the door and back to the cabins. For the most part, we were silent, thinking.

All at the same time I was excited, scared, nervous, and even resentful. I know, that kind of emotional turmoil would drive most people insane. But I wasn't most people. And, to be honest, I was used to a lot of conflicted emotions. It came with the whole abandoned-by-mother, raised-by-never-sober-father thing.

I kept walking when the rest of the campers veered off toward their cabins. I was an only child-well, if you were talking demigods anyway-and had no siblings to rouse and lead to breakfast. I never exactly wanted a baby sister or brother, oh gods no, but here it seemed like I was the only one who had no family. Even Percy had a little brother, even if that "little" brother was huge and a Cyclops. The only camper that didn't have another sibling was Nico, of course. Everything always came back to him.

But even he took off, murmuring in my ear that he had to go somewhere for a few hours. I'd watched him go, walking toward the woods then melting into the shadows. I wondered where he always went during the day. See, Nico wasn't exactly an average camper. Sure, he had a cabin and slept at Camp most nights, but he didn't follow a regular schedule. He showed up for archery lessons, or arts and crafts, or pegasus riding about half the time. The other half, he was gone. It seemed to be normal, him hardly ever being where he was supposed to be, and everyone just shrugged when I'd ask them about it.

"Nico's kind of a loner," Jack had told me during an archery lesson, when I'd still slept in Nemesis cabin. "He just comes and goes whenever he wants. It's easy with his shadow travel thing."

Though he always managed to show up for our very short lived training sessions, secret meetings in the woods, Loner Club get togethers-whatever you'd like to call them. And I had to admit it, the whole tall, dark, and mysterious thing worked for him.

"So," Someone said beside me, nonchalantly, and snapped me back to the present. "You're the daughter of Hera."

I looked over to my right to find Rachel looking at me. I raised one eyebrow skeptically. "Like you don't already know, _Oracle_."

Rachel took that good-naturedly and smiled. "Well, I find that people like to think that I don't always know things about them…If that makes any sense."

I gave her a grudging smile. "Yeah, that makes sense. But personally, I'd rather you just tell me everything you know about me."

Rachel cocked her head, climbing up the steps of the dining pavilion. "Well, I know that you go by Andi, even though your given name is Andromeda. I know that your last name is Smith and that your father's name is David."

I took a step back from her wearily and narrowed my eyes. How could she know that? She smiled slightly, as if knowing this threw me off.

"When he was seventeen he was unclaimed and lived in the Hermes cabin. He was defiant, like you, and when he was told to steer clear of the attic, he couldn't resist checking it out. At the time, the Spirit of Delphi was trapped inside a mummy. So, when he went up to the attic, he touched it and it spouted the prophecy about you.

"He never told anyone, so no one knew about it."

"Then how do you?" I asked cautiously.

"When they rushed me to the hospital, I was unconscious and the Spirit decided to take me on a trip through memory lane," She grimaced, as if it had been unpleasant.

"How'd you get away from the hospital?"

She shrugged. "Not important."

I looked hard at her for a moment, taking in what she'd said about my dad. Then I motioned for her to keep going.

"I also know that you are the granddaughter of Aither-who is one of _the_ eldest gods, the first elemental one-and the daughter of Hera. You're a Libra-"

"Okay, now you're scaring me. You know my Zodiac sign?"

"-and you've got something going on with Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," She finished.

My mouth fell open, then I blushed. Rachel smirked at my expression.

"I told you that people like to think I don't know everything," She told me. "And I don't even need to be the Oracle to see the Nico thing. Even Percy, as blind as he is, can see it."

I closed my mouth and scowled at her. She threw her head back, laughing as if she was used to this. Maybe she wasn't so bad, but if she started spouting embarrassing facts about me-like, for example, my fan girl love for the Backstreet Boys-I'd give her a haircut, Andi style.

I headed toward my table as the cabins started trickling in and watched as the nymphs busied themselves, placing platters of food onto the many tables. I propped my elbow up on the table, my chin resting in my hand, and watched as the Hermes cabin neared the pavilion. Soon enough we were all rising to offer food to the gods. The pavilion buzzed with energy, the smell of sausage and maple syrup filling the air. I twirled my eggs around with my fork, my appetite-normally about the size of a trucker's-had abandoned me.

I hadn't eaten but one bite of my waffle by the time breakfast was over. I dragged my feet as I started back to the cabins, intending to get my armor and head to the Arena for training.

"Andi!" A voice called, just before I reached my cabin. I turned around, startled, and saw about half the camp crowded in the grassy area between the dining pavilion and cabins. They seemed to be huddling around something, all of them silent from where I stood.

"Andi," Taika said again, breathless, as she reached me. "You are about to get handed your quest. Come _on!_"

And with that, she turned on her heel and sprinted back toward the mass of orange t-shirts.

**···**

I followed Taika at a flat-out run. What else could I do? The eagerness

inside of me boiled over, making me run faster than I ever had.

_That was fast_, A sarcastic voice hummed in the back of my head. I had to agree with it, a quest popped up just after we had a meeting about it? It was strange, that was for sure. But this was Camp Half-Blood, home of all that was strange, so I went with it.

The campers were murmuring amongst themselves, all crowded in a circle. I pushed through them, elbowing a few people, until I broke through the ring. Rachel was swaying where she stood, a few campers standing wearily near her. I stepped forward as Taika came through behind me.

_Ask her,_ whispered the voice. It was the same one that had led me to my knife and countless other things.

"Rachel?" I asked tentatively. "What's the prophecy?"

As soon as the words had left my mouth, Rachel's eye opened, very slowly. She fixed me with a piercing glaze, her eyes pulsing in that creepy, neon way. In that moment, she had the eyes of someone much older than eighteen, eyes that had seen the long-ago past and the distant future. I held my breath as she started to speak.

"_Magic, Death, and Light collide,_

_The god of the sun cannot hide._

_A Titaness did not repent,_

_Three demigods shall be sent._

_They shall fight to find the truth,_

_One of them becoming an eternal youth._

_One shall lead them on their way,_

_Without another they would go astray._

_In life in death one shall prevail,_

_The Archer Twins be lost if they fail."_

**···**

I sat rigid at my table. It was lunch time and the pavilion was buzzing with talk and anticipation. I griped the bench tightly, as if that were the only thing keeping me from floating up into space. My leg jiggled nervously, my eyes locked on the woods. Nico wasn't back yet and we were waiting on him to start the council.

"C'mon, c'mon! Nico, get back here," I muttered under my breath, glaring at the shadows, willing them to darken and spit him out. I was still staring when the nymphs started clearing away the plates. I was still staring when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I sprang to my feet, muscles tensing, and somehow ended up standing on the bench, my knife point stuck under someone's throat. Travis Stoll's eyes widened and he put up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Woah, Princess. Chill out," He laughed, a little breathlessly. I relaxed, giving him a sheepish look, and sheathed my knife.

"Sorry," I apologized, hopping off the bench and blinking. There was no one left in the pavilion but us. I had been completely oblivious to the world, focused on Nico appearing.

"Wait, Princess?" I asked, Travis's words finally connecting. He grinned devilishly and started towards the cabins.

"Sure," He called over his shoulder. "I mean, you are daughter of Hera, queen of the heavens."

I jogged after him, catching up and elbowing him in the ribs. "'Scuse me, but there has already been a Princess Andromeda and I have no desire to be her doppelganger."

Travis laughed out loud. "Please, the first Princess Andromeda was a mortal."

"Who," I added with a flat look. "was chained to a rock by her own parents and just about fed to a sea monster to appease the gods. Considering the history I already have with my parents-not to mention my mother's extreme pride-I do not find that story entertaining."

"But on the bright side," Travis insisted, well, brightly. "She was saved by the brave hero Perseus and lived happily ever after!"

"Having eight children is not what I'd call a happy ending," I countered, shuddering. "Yikes."

"But you have to admit, having your own constellation would be pretty cool," He said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess," I conceded as we neared the cabins. "But I still don't want you to call me Princess."

Travis grinned wickedly, backing up towards his cabin, and shouted, "Whatever you say…Princess!"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my own cabin. Inside, I avoided looking at The Statue and grabbed my armor. I bumped the front door with my hip, closing it and pulling on my armor, and skipped down the steps. I had almost gotten to the woods when I heard my name.

"Andromeda," Chiron called serenely. I turned around slowly, trying to put a pleasant expression on my face.

"Yes sir?" I asked as respectfully as I could. He raised his eyebrows then smiled a little bit. I dropped the act, letting a bit of irritation seep into my expression.

"The Council meeting is about to begin," Chiron informed me.

"Nico's back?" I asked, my eyes widening. Chiron smiled again.

"Yep," An amused voice spoke from behind me. I jumped, spinning around to face Nico, who was smirking. I shot him a look but followed as Chiron started off toward the Big House.

"Where were you anyway?" I mumbled to Nico.

"Nowhere," He answered simply. I snorted.

"One of these days, Di Angelo, I will figure out your deepest darkest secrets," I promised, looking at him somberly before cracking a smile. Nico looked uneasy for a second, making the smile slip from my face, but it passed. I still wasn't over it when we walked into the Rec. Room.

"Finally," Someone muttered as we took our seats near the net. I scowled in that general direction before Chiron started talking.

"The prophecy has been spoken, so now the question is who will accompany Andromeda on the quest."

"Well Nico obviously," Annabeth reasoned, causing Nico to cock an eyebrow at her. I forgot that he hadn't heard the prophecy yet. I recited it to him quietly before Annabeth spoke again. "'_Magic, Death, and Light collide.' _Most likely a child of Hecate, Hades, and Hera."

"Hecate, eh?" Tamara, head of Nike, asked, eyeing Taika. Taika raised her eyebrows then shrugged.

"I'm game," She said out loud, looking at me. "We'll need a way to find Apollo, right? I've been thinking and I'm pretty sure I've found a spell that can be used to track someone. I'll bet it will work for a god."

I smiled gratefully. We were off to a good start.

"'_The god of the son cannot hide?_'" Will frowned, then addressed Rachel. "I thought you said Dad had been taken?"

Rachel bit her lip, her brow scrunched with worry. When she spoke her voice was uncertain. "He _was_ taken…"

I shifted uneasily in my seat, along with a few others.

"'_A Titaness did not repent,_'" Miranda repeated, frowning.

"Not more Titans," Conner Stoll groaned.

"'_Three demigods shall be sent,_'" Jack picked up. "'_They shall fight to find the truth-_'"

"The truth is good!" Travis broke in, trying to lighten the mood.

"'_One of them becoming an eternal youth_,'" Jack finished.

Drew's face grew red. "I bet those stupid _Hunters_ _of Artemis _will recruit one of them! Humph! Swearing off love like that," she said hotly, glaring at Taika and I like we were sewer rats. I raised my eyebrows, not quite sure what she was talking about.

"Oh, shut up Drew," Annabeth snapped. Drew's face went even more red, resembling a tomato, and I had to bite back laughter.

"'_One shall lead them on their way_,'" Percy interrupted hurriedly, trying to stop a fight before it started. "'_Without another they would go astray._'"

"Well if the spell I'm thinking of works, one of those could be me," Taika offered.

"'_In life and death one shall prevail,_'" Nico recited, frowning. That made me nervous, considering Nico was an expert in the field of death.

"D'you think that line's about you?" I asked him. He shrugged, which wasn't very clear.

"Prophecies are tricky. Their words often have double meanings," Chiron explained, trying to put us at ease. "Do not dwell on one line of it."

I nodded, then finished the prophecy. "'_The Archer Twins be lost if they fail_.'"

"So it isn't just Apollo who's in trouble," Jake Mason said gravely. "This will affect Artemis too."

"Of course," I answered automatically, hardly realizing that I had spoken. "The moon and sun are dependent on each other. In science, all moonlight is is a reflection of the sun's light off of the moon. In mythology, the sun and the moon are represented by twins. I dunno about you, but if I had a twin who got kidnapped or ran away, I'd be devastated.

"Why do you think the moon is dimmer than normal too? It isn't just the sun that's been affected."

The room absorbed that. "Spoken like a child of Athena," Annabeth said in approval.

"But that also means," Rachel spoke up from the corner, her voice ominous. "that if you fail, one god won't be lost, but a second one too.

"If the Sun and Moon are both gone, darkness will reign."

**A/N: I suck. SO badly. There is not even a word to describe what a total slacker/loser/pathetic excuse for a writer I am. Feel free to flame/hate/stab a voodoo doll of me all you want. I'm _so freaking sorry_ I made you wait so long. I know there really is no excuse, but here's this: School has been killing me. I've been stabbed by midterms and interims, beaten down by incredibly boring novels that are so thick you couldn't shove them in a mailbox, and strung up on the gallows by a stupid amount of detentions. Also, my show season has started up, so I spend half my time either riding horses, washing horses, or at horse shows. I love it, but it takes up all my free time. If that wasn't enough, my piece of crap computer crashed and I was lucky enough to AT LEAST get all my documents and pictures saved onto thirty different flash drives. rme. So it might be a while before I can post a more exciting chapter, because this one is really very dry. I'm working on it though, even if this dinosaur of a ****computer is making me want to shoot myself. I love you guys so much for sticking with me and this story. You all rock! *heart***


	23. And So the Quest Begins

"OH REALLY NOW?" I screamed, waving my knife in the air and glaring at the monster. It was massive, ugly, and scaly. Incidentally, it had just tried to bite me in half. I like myself whole-strange, I know-so I launched myself at the dragon, dodged around its mouth, and found myself standing on one of its wing joints. I shoved my knife into its shoulder, glancing down at Taika while it was distracted. She was peaking out from behind a tree, her lips moving quickly, muttering a spell. Behind the tree trunk, Nico was passed out.

I yanked the knife out of the dragon's hide just in time to jump off of it. The beast rose on it's hind legs, wings beating in the too-small clearing. The dragon took down at least a dozen full-grown pines like it was nothing.

"Ohh, gods help me," I breathed, but charged forward anyway. I slashed at the underside of it's belly, but I couldn't get enough force behind the blow to do any damage. I resorted to using my light. I'd gotten better at channeling the white-hot light through my knife and it acted like a sort of laser. My laser-knife let me back up and regroup while still on the offensive. I slashed the light across it's wings, the dragon roaring and thrashing, trying to get away from the burning pain.

"Taika!" I yelled, backing up near her tree. She was glaring at the dragon, whispering words in Ancient Greek that I understood but didn't take in. She paused for a moment, sweat beading on her forehead.

"I'm trying to cloud it's head, confuse it," She muttered. "The equivalent of being a drunken mess."

I laughed and she went back to casting the spell. Taking a deep breath, I charged forward and let my light go out. The dragon turned, it's yellow eyes glittering. The slit like pupil grew thinner and the monster opened it's mouth. In the back of it's throat I saw a spark.

"Oh, mother fu-!" I screamed, throwing myself sideways to avoid the jet of fire that shot from it's mouth. I was aware of a crackling behind me and groaned. We'd just started a forest fire. Leaping up from the ground, I yelled to get it's attention, and when it's head turned in my direction, I jumped right at it. I scrambled up it's snout, the stench of blood and just-plain-nastiness making me want to pass out. The dragon tossed it's head violently, reminding me of one of those stupid mechanical bulls that I'd nearly broken my neck on once.

I won't ever tell Taika or Nico this, but I didn't actually stab the dragon right between the eyes. More like my knife arm was being jerked around uncontrollably and the dragons motion caused me to sink my knife into it's head. I took it as a victory though, just glad that I hadn't stabbed myself.

The dragon froze when I drove my knife in, a slight quiver running through it before collapsing on the ground. I slid off it's snout and staggered away, trying to get some fresh air. Taika was standing up now, shouting a spell that seemed to smother the flames dancing through the trees. The spell worked quickly, and in another minute the fire was gone completely.

"Look at you, you're a first class forest ranger!" I crowed, grinning at the victory. "Smokey would be so proud!"

She rolled her eyes at me but smiled anyway. Her face was covered in sweat now and she was panting-I hadn't realized just how badly magic could drain you.

Taika looked past me and froze, her eyes widening. I turned slowly, not really wanting to see what had her so spooked. The dragon was blinking, getting groggily to it's feet. I had expected it to turn to monster dust but apparently it took more than a knife between the eyes to kill a dragon.

Taika and I groaned simultaneously, both of us exhausted, and I was still feeling queasy from the Shadow Travel. With one hand I rubbed my forehead, with the other I searched for my knife. Instead of finding the weapon's hilt, I found an empty sheath. My knife was still in the bugger's head. I didn't even have a weapon.

_Don't you? _That voice in the back of my head asked. _You have a unique weapon inside of you._

I looked at the dragon, now on his feet, and understood.

"Close your eyes."

Taika did as I said and I yelled, concentrating on the knife hilt protruding from the beast's head. The dragon's eyes widened and out from it's mouth came shining white light.

The dragon itself started to glow, light escaping from underneath it's skin and scales. The whole world went white for a second and when it faded, all that was left was a mound of yellow dust, my diamond knife resting on top.

**…**

Moaning, I dropped to the ground across from Taika and Nico. He was still unconscious, his head in her lap. Under normal circumstances, I would have had an issue with that, but considering that she was healing him, I didn't interfere. Pretty soon though, if I didn't interfere, it looked like she'd pass out. Her head was bent over his, sweat dripping from her forehead to his, and she was holding his head in her hands. The daughter of Hecate was murmuring again, and now that I was paying attention I realized that she was switching from Ancient Greek to Latin to something that sounded even older. The language was rough and disconnected. I could understand little bits and pieces of it, words that were vaguely similar to Greek and Roman words. The language seemed to draw more out of her, because she squeezed her eyes shut and her face screwed up whenever she spoke it.

After about three minutes of watching, I got back to my feet, unable to sit still. I went to the dust pile first, plucking my knife from it and making a face. Monster dust got everywhere, like sand, but it was ten times harder to get rid of. You know, just another chance to piss off a demigod.

There were plenty of dry, half-burnt twigs on the forest floor over where the fire had been and I gathered them up. The sun was setting and I was hungry. By the time I had set up a pyramid of wood, Taika was sitting back on her heals, her chest heaving. I took out my knife, pointed it at the pyre, and shot a beam of light at it. It went up immediately.

"I could've done that, you know," Taika said between breaths. I laughed.

"Are you kidding? If you do one more ounce of magic you'll explode," I snorted. It was meant as a joke, but Taika didn't crack a smile.

"You're right. I should probably rest."

"Wait, what?"

"If I use too much magic at once, I'll pass out or literally burn up. Like with ambrosia. If you take to much…" She motioned slitting her throat.

"Jeeze," I breathed. "Well then sleep, you need it."

"Are you sure? What if that dragon's mate comes along?" I didn't know how she was conscious still, let alone conscious enough to be concerned.

"Woah-they have mates?" I was really starting to hate this whole 'monster' thing. Taika nodded her head. She straightened up, shaking herself awake. "No, no, take a nap, seriously."

She raised her eyebrows at me and I put on a brave face. "Pshh, I can take another dragon. It'll be cake!"

That made her smile. Taika closed her eyes and sank down onto her backpack; she was snoring almost immediately. As for me, my stomach was demanding food. I grabbed a spare twig, shoved a hotdog on the end, and stuck it into the fire to roast.

If you're confused, I really don't blame you. So lemme fill you in...

**A/N: The good news is that school is almost out. YES. The bad news is that I probably won't be able to update this fic till then. Aaand this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I don't have enough time to finish it at the moment. I thought you awesome, amazing favorite-er and alert-er people deserved a little something, if you are even still interested with Andi whatsoever. So here's this little chunk. I hope you enjoy.**

**Also, if you picked up on the "this fic" thing(which you prolley didn't), you might be like, "Whutt? This is you're only fic, stoopidd." Well, I'm thinking of putting up my Twilight fic, even though I don't even like Twilight. It's the longest fic I have so I wouldn't have to focus so much on writing it for a while even if I updated it every few days. I like the plot and main character too...which makes me sound like a douche-bag for saying I like my plot and character...O.o Anyway: if you are reading this I love you, lemme know whether I should post the Twilight thing or not, and if anyone would like to fangirl over Doctor Who with me, message me-Wait, what? Forget that last part...**


	24. A Summary of Chapters 1 through 23

So if your anything like me, you probably aren't to willing to sit down and read 25 chapters of a fanfic that you're not even sure is good. So I've decided, for any new readers, I'm going to give you a summery of what's happened to our hero so far. Sound good? Okay, here goes:

Andromeda Chase was a normal fifteen year old girl, diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia, that lived with her alcoholic father. She'd never had anything remarkable happen to her until the "popular" girls in her grade suddenly turned into _Lamiai_, demons that are the Greek equivalent to vampires. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were there to save Andi's life, but she was still wounded, causing her to pass out on their way to Camp Half-Blood.

Andi wakes up in the Big House and, long story short, discovers that she is none other than a demigod. Along with learning about her blood lines, Andi also learns that she should have been claimed by her godly parent long ago. After this, Andi is taken on a tour of Camp by the less-than-charming son of Hades, Nico di Angelo.

Skip ahead to that night's campfire, and to everyone's surprise, Andi is claimed by Nemesis, goddess of Revenge. However, through a series of events, it becomes apparent that Nemesis was definitely _not_ Andi's mother.

On top of the false claiming, a warning comes to Andi through a dream. A woman warns her to ready herself for an upcoming battle and the only person Andi can turn to for help is Nico.

By the time Capture the Flag had rolled around, Andi had started to harness her unique ability. Ever since she'd discovered it, she'd kept it a secret, but one thing leads to another and she ends up showing her power off to the entire camp. Her display obviously proved that she was no child of Nemesis, and she was taken to Olympus, for an audience with the gods.

There in the throne room, Nemesis admits to falsely claiming Andi, Aither steps forward to claim the girl as his grandchild, and Andi's mother is revealed. The goddess had tried to hide Andi's parentage because, too bad for our young hero, the goddess resented her. Due to Andi's temper and lack of self control, she found herself on the ground, feeling the after effects of eating Zeus's master bolt.

It looks like the story would end there, right? Well no, actually. Because Andi was born of a demigod and a goddess, she is only 1/4th human, opposed to half and half like most demigods. This keeps her alive, but barely. When she recovers, she is moved to her mother's cabin, without any siblings to keep her company.

Just when things are starting to get better, Apollo disappears. The sun and moon dim, sending mortals and immortals alike into a panic. A prophecy, given by the Oracle, makes it clear that only three demigods can set everything straight: Nico, son of Hades; Taika, daughter of Hecate; and Andi.

And that brings us to the present, with Andi, Nico, and Taika just setting off on their quest to find the sun god.

**You can probably tell that I left a few of the bigger details out. That's because, if you found this summary the least bit interesting, I hope you'll go back and read the story from the beginning. If you still don't feel like reading all of the chapters, you'll get filled in as you go along, I suppose. And if you decide to click out, then thanks for giving the summary a shot. :)  
**


	25. Magic and Shadows

Nico, Taika, and I'd left the council and had gone straight back to our cabins. I'd paced behind the statue of Hera, chewing on my thumb and waiting for the conch horn to sound. When it had, I'd left my cabin and made my way up to the dining hall. The campers were loud, the atmosphere buzzing with anticipation. The food was brought out: pizza, lean cut beef, and buttery rolls.

Every meal I'd eaten at camp, I'd always just scraped some food of my plate wordlessly and sat back down to eat. I hadn't give the gods one thought-why would I? But tonight was different. I plucked the juiciest grapes off of my plate and tossed them in the flames. I hesitated before walking away though. If there was one time to pray, it was now. So I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I thought about praying to Zeus for one insane second, then to Nemesis for another insane second. I lingered on praying to my mother, but decided against it. If I'd tried to ask for her help, it wouldn't be genuine. So I prayed to good old Granddad.

"Aither," I whispered, the crackling of the flames covering up my voice from those around me, "I'm smart enough to know I need help on this quest. I'm not asking for much, but maybe a little luck or nudge in the right direction here or there? Please, Lord Aither, I'd be in your debt."

As far as prayers went, I thought that was pretty good, but I had no way of knowing whether or not it really was. I also didn't know if the god would even get it. I tried not to think about it as I ate, but with no one to talk to, my mind wondered. Just as I started to panic a little bit, my knife, lying on the table, pulsed with light. It was just one little flare, hardly three seconds long, but I knew what it meant. Aither had gotten my request and I was pretty sure that was a sign that he'd agreed.

Chiron stood as the plates cleared themselves from the tables, pounding his hoof against the floor of the pavilion.

"As you all have heard," Chiron boomed, "Taika, Nico, and Andi will be leaving at dawn tomorrow to find Apollo. You have all heard the prophecy. Now we must wish them luck and a safe return to camp."

The camp cheered in support, shouting out words of encouragement. At that moment, I felt like we could actually stand a chance, could actually find Apollo. But that moment passed as soon as I'd gotten back to my cabin. I stared down at a book bag lying next to my few belongings, my heart heavy in my chest. If a god didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be found…right?

There was a knock on the door and I turned, calling out. "Come in!"

Taika slipped into the cabin, grimacing at the Hera statue, and rounded it. She looked at the book bag then sat down on my mattress, stretching out.

"So, you can't take too much, or that'll weigh us down, but you've got to take the essentials," She told me, pulling her own backpack off of herself. "I've got the ambrosia and nectar, the mortal money, and the drachmas. Oh, and I have my spell book."

"Wait, really?" I asked, peering into her bag. She took out a tiny book, the size of one of those pocket bibles. Not exactly what I had been expecting. "Oh…awesome…"

Taika laughed. "It's bigger, I promise. Right now it's just in travel mode."

"Travel mode," I repeated. "Right."

Taika laughed again. "Look, don't worry, I've got the tracking spell worked out. We're leaving at dawn, right? Well from here we need to get to Central Park. The spell is some pretty powerful magic and the nature spirits will be able to help me.

"See, if it works, I should be able to see the general location of Apollo. As we get closer to him, I'll just need to repeat the spell and it will get more exact."

"Great, but that sounds like a whole lot of magic. Are you up for it?"

"Of course," Taika scoffed. Looking back on it, I probably should have asked one of her siblings just how taxing magic could be.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, I was woken up. Nico, Taika, and I had a five second breakfast on the taxi ride into the city. The three of us didn't talk in the cab; Nico wasn't all that talkative, Taika was lost in her head, and I was just too nervous to say anything. The cab pulled up to the curb, Central Park sprawling out to our right, and we climbed out of the cab. Taika handed the cabbie a few drachmas, and, as I took a closer look, I realized that the he was a demigod. His face was scarred, his brown eyes dull, but I could tell he was a half-blood. Don't ask how, I just knew.

"Thank you," I whispered, Taika and Nico already walking off. The cabbie looked at me, a hopeless kind of look that made you hurt inside, and without a word, he'd driven off.

We headed across the park, over to an area dense with trees. Once you walked into them, it wasn't like you were in the city anymore. The constant hum of life that was always in the background faded away and the air became clearer, fresher. It was as if we'd walked off into the wilderness.

"This grove is full of Nymphs," Taika whispered, trying not to disturb any of the creatures in the trees. "They use woodland magic to protect it. Mortals can see it, but none of them ever really _notice _it."

I hummed in response and looked around. I saw figures darting through the trees and then _into_ the trees. There were birds chirping and watery yellow sunshine was filtering down through the branches overhead. I had never really appreciated nature before, but this…this was incredible.

The three of us stepped out into a clearing about as big as two side-by-side Hummers. Taika looked around then dropped to the ground, slinging her backpack around in front of her. She took out her little spell book, a candle, and a pocket knife. I raised my eyebrows.

"You aren't gonna go all Supernatural on us and use blood for this, are you?" I teased, only half joking. Taika looked at me matter-of-factly.

"It would work better if I had the subject's blood. The spell would be more exact. But I don't have any ichor from Apollo, and I don't even know if ichor would work," She explained.

"So what's the knife for?" Nico asked. Taika smiled dryly.

"I, on the other hand, need to drop my own blood on an open flame to get the incantation to work."

I frowned. I didn't like the idea of Taika drawing blood from herself, not even to work the spell we needed in order to find Apollo. She saw my look and gave me a reassuring smile. "Look, Andi, it's just a pinprick. I'll be totally fine."

I nodded and sat down Indian style across from her, watching her as she went to work. First she set the candle up in front of her. I expected her to pull a lighter out of her pocket or something, but instead she glared at the candle. I nearly cracked a joke at her expense before the candle wick burst into flame. I flinched out of surprise and Nico dropped down beside me, smirking. Go figure.

Next Taika laid her palm on her little spell book, closed her eyes, and murmured the Greek word for grow. As commanded, the book started to expand. It just grew, until it was bigger than my head and as thick as a paperback version of Order of the Phoenix. I shook my head; I should've known.

Taika flipped through it until she found what she was looking for. Most of the spell was made up of Ancient Greek, readable even if I was looking at it upside down, but the rest of the spell was Latin.

She closed her eyes, gripping the knife in one hand. Her other hand was pressed against the ground. I remembered her saying the nature spirits would help her with the spell, but I wasn't sure how exactly. Maybe she soaked it up through the ground? No, that was stupid. Then…

I got my answer as a nymph melted from her tree, glided over, and rested her hand on Taika's shoulder. More nymphs came from their trees and did the same, crowding around Taika and all passing energy through to her. You could _feel_ it, flowing through all of them and into her.

After a minute or two, the nymphs melted back into the forest but Taika remained still. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The candle flared suddenly, the flame growing as big as a soccer ball, then died down. Everything went completely silent-the birds stopped singing, animals stopped moving, and the distant sound of New York went away completely. Taika started to read, an urgency in her voice as she chanted. She paused for a second, cut into her palm, and squeezed out a drop of blood, letting it fall onto the flame. Their was a sizzling noise and suddenly the fire shot upwards and out, as big as a fifty inch flat screen, and Taika was blocked from our view. She started to chant again, the spell switching from Greek to Latin. After another full minute, the spell switched back to Greek, drawing to a close. A few more lines and Taika stopped speaking. The flames died down, back to the flicker of a candle, then went out completely. Taika looked at us, her forehead beaded with sweat, and smiled triumphantly.

"I've got it. He's in the west...somewhere in California."

"All right, Taika!" I cheered. The birds took this as a cue and started to sing again. The sounds of the city started to grow and a gentle breeze wound it's way through the trees.

Nico frowned. "North or South?"

"I dunno," Taika shrugged. "When we get close, I'll have to redo the spell."

Nico nodded and stood up, sticking out a hand to help me up. I took it and he hoisted me to my feet, keeping my hand in his. Taika threw her stuff back in her bag(shrinking her book of spells, of course) and stood next to us.

"Ready?" He asked. Taika took his other hand and nodded, her mouth set. I grimaced, but nodded too. We started forward, the shadows growing darker and thicker around us. Out of nowhere, we were plunged into darkness. Chills raced up and down my back, my face stung, and I felt like throwing up. I clung to Nico's hand and shut my eyes tight, waiting for it to be over.

**…**

And that brings us around to a full circle. We'd come out in the woods, tripping over our feet and trying to hold Nico up. He'd muttered something about Iowa and being sleepy, then he'd passed out on us. Taika and I had heard the roar of the dragon and you know the rest.

So now, sitting around the fire and watching both of them sleep, I let my mind wander. We were headed toward California, which was a bad place for demigods. I'd heard the stories from the war, how the Titans had rebuilt Mount Othrys on Mount Tamalpais and how it'd fallen when Kronos was defeated. But that still didn't make it any less dangerous.

I looked at Nico, stretched out on his back, his bomber jacket falling away to show his t-shirt. His head was on his bag, his mouth hanging slightly open. He looked so childlike asleep, his loose curls falling in his eyes. I got to my feet and walked around the fire, crouching down between him and Taika. She was curled in a ball, using her massive spell book for a pillow.

I let myself fall backward and pulled my knees up to my chest. Staring into the fire, I tried to figure out the chance of all three of us getting back alive. I'd never been good at math, but I decided that they weren't that good. You have to have some serious mojo to kidnap Apollo and keep him hidden from the rest of the gods. And here we were, three demigods. How could we contend with that?

Nico groaned, snapping me out of my head, and rubbed his face. He propped himself up on one elbow and blinked, looking around. Then he looked at me and gagged.

"Why do you smell like rotting meat?"

I grinned.

**A/N: I'm not even going to give excuses, I'm just gonna say that I'm sorry. I know that doesn't cover it, but we all know how badly I suck. I'm ashamed and that's enough, right? I promise something big is coming up. You guys deserve more than this lame chapter. I'm working on it, I am, I just haven't felt compelled to right much lately. And it's pointless to force it. So...yeah. Hugs and kisses all around!**

**Another A/N: I still need opinions on posting the Twilight fic, cause I'm still not sure. Okay. Yeah. I'm done. DFTBA loves!**


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